


What's With This Sassy Lonely Princess?

by Kalacakra108



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2019-06-30 22:45:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 46,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15761256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalacakra108/pseuds/Kalacakra108
Summary: Kiran is summoned into the world of Zenith, handed some weird blinky gun that shoots people– literally, and is thrust into a war with hardly a second to think. Who can blame him if he falls hopelessly head over heels in love with the cutest thing he sees? And who can blame him if she's the crown princess of the enemy faction? What's that? Everyone does? Ah. Whoops.





	1. Chapter 1: Heroes in Battle, Heroes in Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Originally Published: June 13, 2018 on FFN]
> 
> AN: Hello everyone! Kalacakra here again, back with a fresh new story for you. I haven't been playing FEH for all that long, but Veronica's character has really started to grow on me and I recently found out that she won the CYL earlier this year and that we might get a Brave version (and hopefully also a normal one?) soonish, which got me excited and got me to thinking about possible ideas for that. This fic was in large part inspired by the One Punch Man reference meme of Veronica and the Summoner, with the latter saying "What's with this sassy...lost child?" (just google "veronica fire emblem sassy child" or go to my profile for links to the pictures).
> 
> This is going to be a Summoner/Kiran x Veronica story. It's kind of a crack-fic I guess. I kind of wanted to work on my humour as that is probably my weakest skill out of writing overall. PlusIthinkshe'sjustadorableandIwanttohughertightandneverletgoandletherknowit'sallgoingtobeokayandprotectthatsmile.
> 
> Ahem. Also, people who are waiting for FEA:PoL, worry not! My main focus is on PoL, and the next chapter is almost ready. I've just never written combat and action before so that has taken me some time. It should be updated soon. This is just kind of a fun side project that I'll get to when I have time. I started this yesterday and finished today, so I don't intend to go too crazy deep with it.
> 
> And I also found this cute as all get out pic of Veronica in the Summoner's clothes (the cover pic) drawn by Aura ( aurapls on twitter) and I just knew I had to do this. Tiki in Robin's tactician robes and Veronica in the Summoner's are the two best pictures in the world.
> 
> Edited and updated this chapter a bit after some critiques on it being rushed (which it frankly kind of was) and rereading several times over myself.
> 
> Also, I think this might be the first Kiran x Veronica story ever?
> 
> Now, on to the story!

 

* * *

  **" _What's With This Sassy…Lonely Princess?"_**

**Chapter 1: Heroes in Battle, Heroes in Love**

* * *

"Everyone, listen up. I've just gotten a report that Emblian soldiers are advancing on our kingdom!"

Commander Anna's words shook them out of their good mood from having freed a great warrior and her world from the clutches of Princess Veronica and the Emblian Empire. Saying goodbye to Minerva and her sister, the Askran royals, along with their commander and the newly-summoned "Great Hero"(!), one "Kiran", pulled forth from the mists between worlds by the divine relic Breidablik, rushed back to their home to safeguard it from the depredations of their mortal foes.

* * *

Upon exiting the portal, Kiran found himself on the outskirts of Askr, face to face with a petite young woman wearing a surly expression on her fair face. She was garbed in a black robe, which made for a stark contrast against her alabaster skin, finer than any porcelain. The thick, silvery-gray hair which fell like a waterfall from her head shimmered brilliantly in the day's light. Ornaments of gold bedecked her body, glimmering brightly against the black of her clothes; the crown which graced her head shone like the setting sun it resembled. From her back, a cape lined with rich crimson silk fluttered languidly in the light breeze, complementing her eyes, which, Kiran thought, as they walked closer towards her, were a rather becoming shade of red.

Behind her stood several soldiers. He could see at least two swordsmen, one of whom was atop a sturdy-looking horse, an archer, and another mounted unit, this one carrying a staff.

"Scurry, scurry little Heroes…Steal for me. Spread destruction. Kill all those who stand in your way. This kingdom must fall. Once it's gone, no one will oppose me. Every Hero, in every world– they'll all be mine. Every last one." Her smooth voice sent a shiver down Kiran's spine.

"We won't allow it, Princess Veronica. And I will personally never forgive this violation of my kingdom!" Alfonse barked out, sword drawn and pointing at her.

"Oh," she replied dully. "It's you. And after I went through all of that trouble to arrange your playdate."

"Now," she spoke, turning her piercing gaze on to Kiran. Her blood-red eyes gleamed with interest for the first time since he had seen her. "Who are  _you_ , stranger?"

Kiran stood there, finding himself losing himself in her vermillion eyes. Crystalline pools of ruby, shining in the dying light of the sun's rays peered back at him, and he felt himself falling further and further into their depths .

"…that silly relic. Then you must be the legendary summoner." She looked at the white-cloaked summoner before a small smirk graced her soft, pink,  _utterly-kissable_  lips. "…be the first to die. Oh…Xander!"

Kiran payed no attention the tall blonde swordsman riding up to Veronica's side, so enraptured was he by her appearance. It seemed they were talking about killing someone? Whatever. It was probably unimportant.

He heard Alfonse shout something about a Xander from the World of…Corn…Quest, was it? Sharena tried to reassure him that they would keep him safe from the Emblians and began to pull him to the back of the formation as the black-armoured knight rode back from where he came, presumably to rally the Emblian troops for attack.

Shaking off Sharena's hand, Kiran strode confidently up to where the Princess of Embla was standing, to the sheer confusion of everyone there, including the Princess herself. He saw her face scrunch up into a confused frown as he approached and had to fight to not just reach out and pinch her cheeks with both hands. Assaulting the commander of the enemy forces was probably a good way to get oneself killed, he reasoned.

Kiran kept walking towards the Emblian princess till there lay but a couple feet of distance between the pair and gave her a short bow. He then smiled warmly before reaching forward to take her hand into his. He noted idly that it was pleasantly cool against the warmth of his own skin. "W-what are you–"

"How do you do, Milady?" he cut her off with a wide grin, ignoring the cries of confusion, and the " _What are you doing, Kiran!?_ "s, and the " _Unhand the Princess, knave!_ "s, coming from around them. "I do believe we have not been properly acquainted yet, Your Highness. I am Kiran, Summoner to the Order of the Heroes of Askr, and recent summonee to this world myself. I was wondering if you might like to get some tea together after this little battle. Just. The. Two. Of. Us?" He winked.

Kiran knelt, still holding the hand of the stock-still princess, who stood there, unmoving. ' _She must not have had much physical affection shown to her or even any contact at all her whole life,_ ' he thought to himself with a frown. ' _Ah well, guess I'll have to change that!_ ' he corrected himself, smiling up at her once more.

The sounds of the charging enemy forces shook him from his thoughts.

"Oh my, it appears it's time for the battle to begin, Milady. I see your knight is riding back here rather quickly, and uh…he's looking kind of angry, so I shall just add that it has been a real  _pleasure_  to make Your acquaintance, Your Highness." Saying thus, Kiran lifted her ( _small, soft, cool_ ) hand up to his face, still hidden under his cowl, and pressed his lips to the back of it. He felt her go ramrod-stiff under his ministrations, and let go of her hand after standing up. He saw her face, with its seemingly limited range of expressions run through the gamut of them as it began to turn a rather fetching shade of red, her arm still outstretched where he left it.

Ah…whoops. Look like he broke the princess. Better get back behind his group's lines before he got accused of attempting to assassinate an enemy royal or something.

With a little wave goodbye, Kiran ran back to his group as the sound of thundering hooves grew closer. Of his four teammates, it seemed Virion was the only one who didn't look utterly dumbfounded, choosing instead to give him a wide grin and a little waggle of the eyebrows as a fellow admirer of the female persuasion. As Kiran ran through the group to get to the back of their formation, he gave the Archest of Archers a little high-five in acknowledgement of the subtle praise.

"Now, guys! Attack!" Kiran yelled. And the four fighters under his command quickly recovered from their shock and charged forth to defend their kingdom from the invaders.

* * *

Whether it was the princess' confusion leading to her inability to order her troops as effectively as she could have or just his own strategic brilliance (he liked to think it was the latter), Kiran's team made quick work of the opposing squad and sent the Emblians packing.

He and his team practically collapsed onto the ground, relieved that the fighting was finally over. It had been a nerve-wracking few minutes before they realized that they were effectively steamrolling the opposing side. After Sharena took down Xander, none of the other soldiers managed to put up much of a fight.

"Left all alone," Veronica muttered to herself as the Askrian siblings marched up to her with their weapons drawn and pointed at her. "Again? How dull. I'll go console myself back home with a cup of–" it was at this point that she caught sight of the Summoner standing behind them and what she was about to say caught in her throat as the sight of the hooded man reminded her of his…'invitation' earlier, causing her face to go red once more.

"A cup of  _tea_ , Your Ladyship? That's a great idea! I would be most honoured to join You and, if I may be so bold, help console You myself," he finished with another smile. It seemed this was simply too much for the poor girl and her cheeks burnt even hotter colouring her face an even darker shade of crimson.

It was at this point that Xander rode past them, picking up the little princess and slinging her over his horse so that she was seated behind him as they raced off into the distance

Speaking of the spear-toting princess, Kiran heard her something about wishing that they could talk her Emblian counterpart out of waging this destructive war, promptly followed by a scolding by Commander Anna for losing her temper.

' _Man,_ ' Kiran thought to himself. ' _What's with this sassy…lonely princess?_ '

* * *

Omake 1:  _"This sassy...lost child"_

Upon exiting the portal, Kiran found himself on the outskirts of Askr, face to face with a petite young woman wearing a surly expression on her face. She was garbed in a black robe, which made for a stark contrast against her pale white skin. The thick, silvery-gray hair which fell like a waterfall from her head shimmered brilliantly in the day's light. Ornaments of gold bedecked her body, glimmering brightly against the black of her clothes; the crown which graced her head shone like the setting sun it resembled. From her back, a cape lined with rich crimson silk fluttered languidly in the light breeze, complementing her eyes.

Behind her stood several soldiers. He could see at least two swordsmen, one of whom was atop a sturdy-looking horse, an archer, and another mounted unit, this one carrying a staff.

"Scurry, scurry little Heroes…Steal for me. Spread destruction. Kill all those who stand in your way. This kingdom must fall. Once it's gone, no one will oppose me. Every Hero, in every world– they'll all be mine. Every last one."

Kiran just stared at the Emblian princess, in disbelief, before tapping Alfonse on the shoulder.

"What..." he began. "What's with this sassy...lost child?"

"I AM NOT A CHILD, I AM 1* YEARS OLD DAMNIT!" came a cry from the other side, where a fuming Veronica stood, face a dark red in anger.

"That's it!" she yelled. "I have had enough of the short jokes! Xander, kill them all now! And start with that big mouthed stranger!"

* * *

Omake 2:  _Big Brother Kiran_

He heard Alfonse shout something about a Xander from the World of…Corn…Quest, was it? Sharena tried to reassure him that they would keep him safe from the Emblians and began to pull him to the back of the formation as the black-armoured knight rode back from where he came, presumably to rally the Emblian troops for attack.

Shaking off Sharena's hand, Kiran strode confidently up to where the Princess of Embla was standing, to the sheer confusion of everyone there, including the Princess herself. He saw her face scrunch up into a confused frown as he approached and it was just cutest damn thing he had ever seen. He couldn't keep his hands from shooting out and grabbing ahold of the little Princess' cheeks, pinching and squeezing them into increasingly ridiculous shapes.

Nobody said a word at the 'manhandling' of one of the most feared rulers of the world of Zenith. It seemed the Askrians were just as utterly dumbfounded as their Emblian enemies. One of the soldiers even dropped his lance as he watched this treatment of his sovereign liege.

"B-bhaf are you boing!?" she squeaked, trying to form words as she slapped away the hands assaulting her face.

"Oh. My. God. Are you  _not_  just the cutest little thing ever?" Kiran gushed. Not one used to such open and effusive praise, the princess' face grew red as she started to pull out her tome to smite this insolent insect back to whatever world he came from.

"You remind me of my little sister but even littler aaaaaaa! You are so smol!" he said, patting her head.

At these words, Veronica, stopped, looking at the enemy summoner with wide eyes.

"L-little sister?"

"Yeah," Kiran said, frowning. "I haven't seen her or the rest of my family since I got dragged here a few days ago. I hope they're doing alright."

"I-I see..." the princess trailed off, struggling with her words before looking off to the side and saying quietly, "I have a big brother too, but I haven't seen him in a long time." She looked genuinely upset, Kiran noted. "If you like..." she kicked the ground shyly, twiddling with her fingers, "I c-could..." she took a deep breath. "I could be your little sister as long as you're here. I-if you want!"

She turned to glare at the Askrians. "I-I'll even stop fighting them if you agree!"

"Dawwww, Veronica," Kiran smiled. "Of course I'll be your big brother while I'm here. Nothing would make me happier!"

The little princess blushed bright red before turning around and pulling Kiran along with her as he waved goodbye to the Askrian royal siblings and Commander Anna. "It was nice meeting you guys! I'll come see you from time to time!" They said nothing as they waved weakly back at the departing pair, completely confused by this development.

"T-thank you..." Veronica muttered quietly as they walked back towards her soldiers to leave Askr.

"It was nothing, Veronica. Like I said, I'm happy you asked me. It's a great honour to know you'd consider me trustworthy enough to ask me such a thing despite us having just met," Kiran said with a smile as he rubbed her hair.

Veronica just kept walking with her head bowed, her bangs overshadowing her face. She bit her lip to keep from sobbing in joy and relief, but the tears streamed forth from her eyes, vermillion trails in the evening light. "V-Veronica?" Kiran asked, surprised.

"It's nothing..." she said quietly, breath hitched in her throat as she wiped her tears away with the back of her sleeve. "Onii-chan."

* * *

The Empire of Embla declared peace and an end to the war within the week.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Now, I couldn't use any of these in this story I'm telling for obvious reasons, but they were ideas I had swimming around in my head and I hoped you enjoyed them!
> 
> Please leave a review, even if you don't like or follow; I like reading people's responses and critiques! Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2: A Mysterious Feeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Originally Published: August 21, 2018 on FFN]
> 
> AN: Hello everyone! Sorry it's been a while since I updated anything! I haven't had my computer in over a month due to lending it to a family member because reasons, but it's finally back and I have been able to work on some stuff, thankfully. SO, MOST IMPORTANTLY, CYL2 was finally released in Fire Emblem Heroes today, and a playable version of Veronica (Brave Princess, Colourless horse healer) is FINALLY out– Oh happy day! In celebration of that, enjoy this next chapter of "What's With This Sassy…Lonely Princess?", while I get my free Princess and level and support her up! As always, please read and review, and thank you to everybody who did so last time!

* * *

**_"What's With This Sassy…Lonely Princess?"_ **

**Chapter 2: A Mysterious Feeling**

* * *

The blood of the dragon-god Embla boiled to a near fever-pitch in Veronica's veins, the rage it induced casting a red haze over her thoughts.

It pulsed, hot and violent, in the veins of Princess Veronica, who hid in the woods to the south and watched as the Askrian forces led by that insufferable red-headed commander marched along the banks of the river which led into the clearing where her troops lay in wait.

The power afforded her by the Drakenblut of her royal lineage allowed the Princess to seize control of the will of one of the most powerful heroes in legend, Prince Marth of Altea, as well as several of his closest allies– the Pegasus Knight Caeda, the archer Gordin, and the mage Merric– and force them to fight under her command. Unfortunately, at this particular point in time in the World of Mystery, the young lord had not yet matured into the Hero-King he would one day become and she had to make do with his younger counterpart. Thankfully, however, he was still in possession of the divine sword Falchion at this point in time, and was thus able to present a more than credible threat to the dragon units that her Askrian counterpart was so fond of fielding.

Cracking open her tome, the Princess of Embla muttered an incantation before pricking her finger on the point of a dagger and letting a drop of blood fall onto a blank page. As the lifegiving fluid touched the parchment of the book, it seemed to almost diffuse into the material, disappearing entirely before a red grid showed up, a perfect replica of the battlefield before her. Swirls of ink solidified into the miniature forms of the heroes she had contracted into her command, showing exactly where they stood on the little island at the center of the clearing. Sure enough, the enemy forces also began to materialize onto her map as they drew closer. As expected, Kiran's squadron did, in fact, include a dragon unit. Tiki, from the World of Awakening, if she wasn't mistaken.

She heard the thundering of hooves off in the distant and watched as the miniature horse archer, a woman named Lyn, her tome helpfully supplied, engaged in battle with the Princess' mage and archer both, fending off their distance attacks with her own ranged weapon, which allowed her allies to sneak past unharmed.

Merric, seeing the tactic being fielded at them, cast his Excalibur spell at the mounted bow-woman, forcing her to retreat from the magical zephyr, and used the opening to rush towards the right in order to attack the enemy infantry that was making use of the opening provided by their ally. Through her tome, she saw the Altean mage charge up his spell, ready to unleash the galeforce winds on that insufferable tart, the princess of Askr, before her wretched brother pulled her out of range as the manakete, Tiki, rushed forward to fill the gap, a burst of light concealing her transformation into her draconic form. The blades of Merric's wind spell glanced off of the dragoness' thick hide, before being pierced through by a bolt of lightning emanating from her mouth. The electric counter smashed through the mage's offense, besting him completely, and his likeness went dark, signaling his inability to continue fighting. Growling under her breath, Veronica sent Marth to deal with the impudent creature, Falchion gleaming, backed up Caeda, but at the last second, the Askrian princess leapt forwards, spear flashing, and beat away both nobles' swords, saving the manakete from sudden death.

That marked the end for Veronica. Engaged as they were, neither Marth nor Caeda saw Lyn defeat Gordin until the whizzing of arrows through the air felled the Pegasus Knight and her mount. The prince of Altea turned around in surprise at the defeat of his comrade. This soon proved to be a mistake. As soon as Marth looked away, that damnable spear-princess from Askr knocked his blade out of his hand and sent him into a deep sleep with a strike from the butt of her spear.

"Impossible!' Veronica growled to herself, stomping in anger.

'Why do I keep losing?' she frowned. Her grip on the tome tightened until her knuckles turned white. 'How is that wretched Summoner able to predict and respond to all of my moves? It's as if he's looking over my shoul–'

"Ehhhh?" drawled a voice behind Veronica. "So that's how you do it, huh?" interrupted a voice from behind Veronica, causing her to flinch in shock and drop the heavy grimoire on the forest floor with a thud.

"Hiiiiiee!" she shrieked in surprise, whirling around. "Wh-wh-what are you doing he–"

"Veronica!"

Unfortunately (for the princess, though fortunately for Kiran), Veronica spun around far too quickly, and in her surprise, ended up stumbling and twisting her ankle as she tripped over an exposed tree root.

You know that feeling of weightlessness you feel right before you're about to take a terrible fall or when you're leaning back too in your chair and you can feel your entire life flash right before your eyes? So, as she fell, Princess Veronica too experienced that brief flash of terror. She turned her head to the side and brought her arms up to brace for impact, eyes shut tight…

Only to feel a soft "thwump" as she landed, far less painfully than she had expected.

'Huh? Was the forest floor always this soft?'

Come to think of it, she realized, it seemed like her upper body hadn't even hit the ground. Something was holding her up.

Cautiously, the Emblian princess opened one eye. To her left, all she saw were the trees of the forest surrounding her. But what, then, had caught her, keeping her from hitting the forest floor?

Slowly, she turned her head towards the right, only to see a sight that caused both eyes to go wide, as she saw just what it was that kept her from falling.

Veronica found herself gazing up into the concerned face of Kiran, which was normally concealed by his cloak. Wrapped around her body were the arms of the kneeling Summoner– left hand against her upper back, right around her waist– who held her in a grip that was at once both firm yet gentle; he had caught her such that while her body was held fast against his own, she felt no pain from the grip, merely the warmth from his hands.

She felt the blood rush up to her face, which quickly began to burn a bright red.

"Hawhawha-what are yo–" the little princess stammered before the lump in her throat got stuck and silenced her.

"Are you alright, Veronica? It looked like you twisted your foot. Does it hurt anywhere?" Kiran asked gently.

Her only response was to bury her face in her hands and shake her head, letting out a piteous whine, "Hauuuu…".

"Thank the gods," the Summoner said, letting out a relieved breath, as he slowly lowered the princess to the ground, helping her sit upright. Kiran removed his hand from Veronica's body to clasp her hands in his own. "I'm glad you're not hurt."

"Th-thank you," the princess demurred, looking away from Askrian counterpart.

Standing up, Kiran stretched out his hand to the seated princess, helping her back onto her feet.

"I mean it, you know. I was honestly worried when I saw you trip on that root and fall. Ah, you dropped your book over there," he pointed behind her.

Without a word, Veronica walked over to the fallen tome and picked it up. Without turning around, she began to speak. "Foolish summoner…you are quite naïve, are you not? I could destroy this very instant if I so wished."

Ghostly green flames began to swirl around the diminutive royal as she held her grimoire. Kiran's eyes widened as he saw the witchfire surge around her, casting an eerie glow upon her black-clad form. The interplay of light and shade within the confines of the forest they were in lent the scene an air of something like a painting by one of the German Romantics.

All the awestruck Summoner could do was whisper but a single word: "Beautiful…"

At his word, the wisps of verdant flame began to die down around the princess, and the afternoon sunlight streamed in through the forest canopy again as she turned around with a rueful smile on her face. "Honestly, you are such a fool," she said softly.

"Sorry, what did you say? I didn't quite catch that," the Summoner replied.

"It was nothing," she said, turning around and extending her left elbow. "It seems we've gotten a bit further into these woods than expected. Even I am not certain as to where we are. Let us walk on."

Kiran broke out of his stupor and began to walk past the princess until she cleared her throat. "Ahem," she said, shaking her outstretched elbow a little.

"Huh? Oh!" Kiran realized what Veronica was hinting at, and linked his arm with hers, escorting her through the forest. They walked quietly for a few minutes, with only the sounds of the forest to keep them company.

A light breeze blew through the trees as they reached the edge of the woods. Veronica turned to look up into Kiran's eyes, shaded though they were by his hood.

"So, I guess this is where we go our separate ways, huh? I'm really glad I got to see you again though, even if it had to be this way," Kiran told her. "Speaking of which, why do you do this?" he asked. "You seem like a nice person at heart, Veronica."

"You really are such a naïve fool, Summoner," the princess laughed, mournfully.

"H-huh!? Where did that come from?" Kiran protested.

"Not to mention rude and overly-familiar," Veronica jibed smugly.

"Ah, sorry!"

"Well," Veronica continued, looking away, "it's not like I entirely dislike that, though…"

"Then, do you mean–!?"Sadly for the two, the moment was interrupted by a triumphant cry from just beyond.

"Well done, everyone," came Alphonse's voice. "We've saved their world and our kingdom. At least for now," said the Askrian prince.

At the sound of her hated enemy's voice, the dragon-blood once again coursed through the princess' veins with renewed vigour, seething with wrath and hatred.

"How frightfully boring," she spat out, walking into the Askrians' sight.

"Princess Veronica!" Alphonse cried out.

"After all the trouble I went through, making Marth and those others pawns of our empire...Why did you free them? No matter. I have far more powerful forces at my beck and call. If I wish you dead, they will oblige. And...do I want that? Oh, yes. I very much do. Now, just you wait there while I call them over…" the princess threatened.

Commander Anna, rightfully frightened, sounded the retreat, catching sight of Kiran and grabbing him, before running away with the other Askrians.

"Going so soon? And just when I was getting ready to play!" the princess of Embla chuckled darkly. "I suppose I'll go home.

You'd better get ready for what's coming next. Oh, the Heroes you're going to meet!"

Her grim promise echoed in the retreating Askrian's minds as they left the battlefield.


	3. Paralogue 1: The Pen is Mightier than the Sword(?) 1

**AN** : Well, I'm back with another update on this story! I was both surprised and pleased to get such a positive response on just the first chapter of this tale, as short as it was, and it has been a real motivation factor to write and release this chapter as soon as possible, so please leave me a review to help keep me going. Thanks!

Also, going forward, I'm going to start using the term "Paralogue" for these inter-chapters that lie somewhat outside the bounds of the main story. This one is set anywhere between Chapter 1 of the game's story ("World of Mystery") and Chapter 9 ("Heroes Invade"). Now without further ado, onwards!

* * *

**" _What's With This Sassy…Lonely Princess?"_**

**Paralogue 1: The Pen is Mightier than the Sword(?) 1**

* * *

Kiran had finally gotten the chance to get settled in at the castle the Order of Heroes used as their headquarters after several days of back to back combat. He had a room of his own, a kickin castle to live in, the admiration of the royal family of the kingdom he had been suddenly pulled into, and the respect and adulation of many of the heroes he had since summoned to aid them in their war against the Empire of Embla.

In short, life was pretty good, he thought as he fell back onto his bed. It had been a long and tiring day under the warm Askrian sun running training drills and he had never been so glad to see that soft, downy mattress as he was now.

As he began to drift off to sleep, Kiran suddenly recalled something very curious. Feh, the fluffy little owl inhabiting the castle would, on a regular basis…'procure' various objects from some unknown location; on more than one occasion he had gone to the main hall for breakfast only to see Feh sitting pretty on a pile of feathers that somehow had the ability to make Heroes stronger or some of those shiny, iridescent orbs that seemed to function as the 'ammunition' for his relic to summon more of those aforementioned otherworlders. As he turned over in his bed, Kiran spotted his desk, stationary sitting on top. One of his favourite hobbies, back in his original world, was writing letters to his friends, even though they had recourse to speedier methods of communication, such as instant messengers. And here, letter writing was almost certainly more practical, considering they didn't have any internet, or even, for that matter, electricity (how his phone was still able to connect to wifi was a mystery beyond his understanding, as was the fact that he apparently had no need to charge it).

A gleam filled his eyes as he suddenly sat up. Hopping up off his bed, Kiran quickly threw on his coat and rushed out of his room towards the main hall.

* * *

( _The Next Morning_ )

Her August Majesty, Blood of the Dragon, Askrsbane, Her Imperial Highness, Princess Veronica sat alone at the head of the table in the Great Hall of the Emblian palace eating her breakfast in silence. Her brother had disappeared off to Embla-knows-where and the…Empress took her meals in her own chambers so she wouldn't have to see the girl working to undo the peace she had so carefully-wrought after the end of the last war; none of the Empire's vassals or retainers had bravery enough to eat there in the same hall as their rather frightening liege, and so, beyond the handful of soldiers standing guard, Veronica found herself as alone as always.

The customary quietude of her morning meal was broken by the flapping, which, in the otherwise silent hall, was loud enough to draw her eyes away from her meal and look up at the large black bat fluttering about overhead. She stretched her arm out and the flying beast landed upon it, depositing a sealed white envelope into her lap.

"What's this, Hef? A letter for me?" she asked the bat, who chirruped before nudging his head against her arm. "Yes, yes, I'll give you a reward," she smirked before picking up a grape and feeding the creature, who gave her another noise of thanks before flying off again.

She looked at the rather heavy envelope sitting in her lap before picking it up and slicing through the seal with one of the knives on her table.

Pulling out a letter from inside, she murmured to herself, "Now who would write to me?"

She unfolded the letter and began to read.

_Dear Princess Veronica,_

_If you're reading this then that means my plan worked. We can now write to each other and keep in touch this way!_

_I hope this letter finds you in good health._

_How have you been? I can only imagine how difficult it must be leading an empire all alone. I hope you've been taking care of yourself. Have you been getting enough sleep? Eating enough? Unfortunately, I can't be there to take care of you myself, at the moment, so I hope you're doing alright._

_It's only been a few days since we last met but I can't help think of you. From the moment I first saw you there was something about you that really caught my eye. I can't put my finger on what exactly that something is, but it's definitely there._

_Though, I do wish we could have met under better circumstances. I would so dearly have loved to be your friend. I still hold hope that maybe one day, once all of this fighting is over and done with, I can._

_Askr is nice. It's been pretty cool being able to summon all these heroes from different worlds and getting to meet and learn from them._

_Hope to see you again!_

_Yours truly,_

_-Kiran_

_P.S.– I still owe you some tea from last time so though I can't be there with you, I thought I'd send you some of my new favorite blend. It's elderflower and rose tea. Something about it just reminded me of you and I fell in love with it at first sip. I hope you enjoy it too!_

Her face heated up she threw the letter down on the table as if it had bitten her, causing the dishes and silverware to clatter.

Some of the guards rushed in at the noise, weapons drawn.

"Princess! What's wrong?" yelled the captain of the guards.

"W-wrong? Nothing's wrong! Why do you think something's wrong?"

The captain was at a loss for how to respond. "We uh…we heard a noise coming from here, Your Highness and were worried something happened."

"N-nothing happened, now leave me!"

"At your leave, Milady," he replied before rushing the rest of the guards out the door.

Veronica waved to one of the maids, "Clear this up, I-I shall be in my chambers!"

Bowing, the maid rushed to clean up the table as her princess rushed out of the hall, her cape swishing behind her.

As she cleared the table, Leticia found the letter left behind by her liege. Eager to find some gossip-worthy material, the girl quickly opened it up before sighing to herself at the sheer adorableness of this young man's clear infatuation with the princess of their Empire. Her lady knew that a good majority of Embla looked up to their little princess, holding her up as a paragon of the Emblian spirit. This was a role Veronica lived for and always strove to fulfill. Sadly, most of their people had no clue as to how lonely their princess really was, as she preferred to stay aloof from her subjects, reigning from on high.

Leticia herself had only come to understand the full extent of her princess' isolation from the world after many years of serving her. As a result of this, the maid had developed a deep sympathy for the younger girl and had always sought to provide her as much comfort as she could, despite agreeing with the pacifism of the current Empress. Sadly, though, she was constrained by the limitations of propriety and her position. Still, she thought to herself, perhaps this young man could do what she was unable to, and melt the ice around Veronica's heart.

As she reached the post-script, Leticia read the bit about the tea before looking around for the gift it mentioned. Seeing the thick envelope, she peered inside, finding a little white and gold tin in it. As she opened the tin, a sweet scent came wafting out. It really was a rather nice tea, Leticia thought to herself. This Kiran really was a thoughtful young man, she mused. Her lady  _would_  probably enjoy it and she  _had_  indicated that she had been growing tired of her usual blend…

* * *

( _Later That Afternoon_ )

Hearing a knock on the door to her room, Veronica called out, looking up from the piles of paperwork around her, "Come in."

Leticia entered with a trolley bearing freshly-baked cakes and pastries, surrounding a steaming pot.

"Ah, Leticia. Is it time for tea already?"

"Yes, Milady," she smiled, pouring her princess a cup of the brew.

Veronica took a sip of the tea before looking up in surprise. "This is not my usual tea, Leticia."

"Indeed, Milady. I hope you don't find it too presumptuous, but I do recall you mentioning that you were getting a bit bored of your usual blend so I thought I might try something new today. How is it?"

Veronica took in the scent of the blend before drinking from her cup again. "Hmm…It's not bad. Flavourwise, its a bit lighter than what I'm used to but it's nice. It feels…warm," she replied.

Leticia's smile only grew wider as she curtsied before her lady.

"What is this blend?" Veronica asked after a few more moments, before taking a bite of a lemon cake.

"If I remember correctly, I believe it was elderflower and rose?"

" _El-elderflower and ro_ –"

Whatever the princess was about to say was cut off as she started to choke on the bite of cake. Leticia rushed over immediately, rubbing her back to help restore the airflow. While Leticia would normally have suspected poison, she had tested the tea personally before serving it to the princess. Most likely, she figured it was simply surprise.

After catching her breath, Veronica sat back down, face flushed.

"And j-just where did you get such a blend? The roses might be from here but elderflowers only grow in Askr!" the princess stuttered. The tips of her ears were a bright red at this point, burning as hot the blood thrumming in her veins.

"Ah, it seems we just received a new import this morning, Milady," she replied holding up the tin. "I do hope it was to your tastes."

"Y-yes, it was…g-good," Veronica whispered back. She cleared her throat before continuing, "A-anyway! Leave me be, I have work to get back to."

Bowing, Leticia exited with a bright smile on her face, pushing the trolley before her.

"Ah, wait," she heard her liege's voice call out from behind her. "You c-can leave the rest of that tea here."

"Yes, Milady!"

Leaving the pot of tea on her lady's desk, Leticia practically skipped out of the room.

After the door closed, Veronica let out a sigh of relief before looking over at the still warm pot of tea.

' _It was a rather nice blend_ ,' she thought. ' _It would be a shame for it to go to waste._ '

She made up her mind and poured herself another cup.

Unbeknownst to anyone, even Veronica herself, a little smile flickered onto her face as she savoured the drink, relaxing back into her seat.

' _It really is warm, isn't it?_ '

* * *

**AN** : Thank you very much for reading. I have gone and edited some of the continuity problems I was having and I have the order that the chapters and paralogues were released in game open in another tab, so I will be referring to that fairly often to make sure my story's events take place more or less in the same order as the actual game's does.

Also, I mentioned in my previous note, the next chapter of this story will actually be a so-called "Xenologue", as it follows events not directly related to the flow of the main story. It's still under construction as of right now, sitting at a pretty 10,000+ words, which seems fair, as it's meant to tell a full story by itself. Still, I was worried some of y'all might be getting anxious or impatient for the next installment of this story, so here's a few teasers. Think of this is a sort of movie trailer for the coming short story:

_WWTSLP? Xenologue 1: The Two Tacticians (Preview)_

_One of the more entertaining things that Kiran had witnessed since being summoned to Zenith and joining the Order was watching the interactions between the two Robins– and by extension, their children._

_When Robin met Robin, they were quick to become intense– but friendly– rivals, each competing to prove themselves the better tactician. Despite this cordiality, there was still an underlying current of awkwardness between the the pair, as there likely naturally would be between anyone who met a version of their self, though of the opposite sex._

_This was a feeling only made all the stronger by the fact that the moment both Robins first laid eyes on each other, they were struck by how good they actually looked as the opposite gender._

_It was a very surreal experience, all things considered._

* * *

_Deep within the castle's dungeons, far below the heroes' heaths, a dragon fell, bound by shining golden runes, who wore the flesh of a man, from his divinely-induced slumber did stir._

_"So…" he murmured. "It begins anew…I will again be whole."_

_Whispering thus, he passed yet again into the realm of sleep. Lost he was, unto his dreams of blood and of tears._

* * *

_Though they respected each other, despite their differing tactical sensibilities, both Robins soon began to rely on each other as well, not just professionally but also personally. This change was precipitated by a certain event: the arrival of one of the tacticians' daughter– Morgan._

_Morgan had always been very attached to her father, but it surprised him just how quickly she took to his female counterpart. The two women got along swimmingly and grew very close to each other in a very short period of time, with Robin treating Morgan as the daughter she never had._

_For Robin, Morgan was a reminder of her sister in all but blood, Aversa, whose true past she still held some guilt over. Despite having always been at odds with the older witch since she had woken up in the field that day, Robin had always desired to find some way to make up with the woman after she found out about the consequences of Validar's schemes on Aversa's life._

_Hearing how her parallel self's daughter had become a Dark Flier after taking lessons from her aunt, whom Morgan held in no small amount of respect and affection, did a great deal to help ease Robin's guilt. As for Morgan's father, his female counterpart became a trustworthy figure to look after and educate his daughter in a way that he would have desired in his absence._

* * *

_Morgan had a secret she had kept from all the world since her arrival in the past. One that was never revealed to a single other soul– not even her father._

_She had, in fact, one memory, one single keepsake from her mother– a ring she wore on a chain around her neck. It was a fairly simple affair– a single silver band with a single purple jewel set in the center, around which was engraved a circle and a six-pointed knot– but Morgan could remember her mother telling her how important it was to her, as it was the ring given to her by Morgan's father when he proposed._

* * *

_In the forest of Morgan's hair, both figures' fingers brushed past each other for a moment, sending a spark of electricity up both of their spines. In that moment, they caught each other's gaze, bodies slowly filling with warmth as their faces flushed a mutual, gentle red– a warmth that could not be explained away by the fire crackling in the hearth nearby, arising so undeniably from within each's core and spreading outwards as it did. Neither of the two could move an inch, paradoxically both burning from the warmth within their bodies and frozen in place by the same._

* * *

_From behind the Summoner stepped a hooded figure that made the two gasp. There stood before them a figure wearing a rather familiar cloak. The very same cloak, in fact, that the pair of them were wearing now. It hung loosely about the figure's slight frame, almost as if it were made for someone taller than the person currently wearing it._

_The person lowered his hood, revealing his face. To Robin, apart from the slightly shorter hair and more angular facial features, the boy before them looked almost identical to his daughter, Morgan._

_"Mother!" cried the boy, rushing forward to embrace Robin. "I'm so glad to see you again!"_

_"As am I, my darling boy," she replied, kissing the crown of his head._

_"Hey, Dad," came a voice from off to the side, revealing Robin's daughter, who had evidently been drawn to the Great Hall's entrance after hearing her father's name being called. "Who's tha–"_

_As she neared the three similarly cloaked figures, her eyes went wide at the sight of the shortest of the three and her mouth fell open, an expression mirrored by the young man in front of her._

_"Whoa," came the voices of the two youths in unison. They both raised their hands simultaneously and touched their palms together, looking for all the world like a pair of reflections in a mirror._

* * *

_At this, the children broke off from the main group, moving a bit further down the table. Lucina smiled at Robin and bid her congratulations before turning around to speak with the newfound boy._

_"Well met, Morgan," she smiled, resting her hand on Morgan's shoulder. "It's good to see you again. None of the others of our generation are here yet, so it's been a bit lonely," she laughed softly. The wind blew in through the doors that opened onto the balconies, softly rustling the warrior-princess' hair. "I've missed having you around."_

_Fortunately, before Morgan could tease the poor boy any longer, a young swordswoman, probably a couple years older than them, with long green hair tied back into a ponytail walked up to the two aspiring tacticians as Lucina left, distracting her. She was wearing a long blue tunic with high slits on both sides that exposed her firm, muscular legs. "Well hello there, you two," she said with a smile. "My name's Lyndis, granddaughter of the Marquess of Caelin, but I just go by Lyn! I just got here last week myself."_

_"I'm Morgan!" said Robin's daughter._

_"Erm, h-hello!" said Robin's son, fidgeting in his seat. "M-my name is Morgan as well."_

_…_

_She shook their hands before continuing. "My, how curious," she laughed. "Well, I heard a new hero had been summoned tonight, and when I saw the two of you, I couldn't help but feel a strange familiarity with you both."_

_…_

_"Tacticians, huh? Well, you sure seem like it. You know, you really remind me of a friend I once had– a tactician much like yourselves. His name was–." Whatever she had just said was drowned out…_

_The woman before them sighed fondly as her gaze drifted away slightly, remembering something from the past._

_"Ah, forgive me," Lyn said, smiling forlornly. "It looks as though tonight will be one for reminiscing," she laughed softly. "It might be time for me to retire for the night. Still, it has truly been a pleasure meeting you both. I am happy that I was able to meet people who remind me of my loved ones, even in a land so far away as this. Especially you, Morgan," she said, turning to the male of the pair. His cheeks flushed pink. "I can't help but shake the feeling that we must have met before. Truly, you look so much like my own tactician, that I fear I may end up getting you both confused!"_

_The woman stooped down to whisper into the poor boy's ear. "If ever you have need of my blade, 'Morgan', you need only command me. You be my tactician and I'll be your peerless warrior."_

_As she stepped away, Morgan could swear she winked at him as she gave him a sultry smile before blending into the crowd and disappearing from sight faster than he would have expected from a girl with green hair. He was sure his face was probably blushing redder than Miss Tiki's dress._

* * *

_She saw the two figures smiling and talking on the balcony, holding glasses of champagne in the light of the full moon as they watched the shooting stars go by, surrounded by elderflowers gleaming as bright white as their hair. The woman giggled and blushed as the man broke off a spray of flowers and set them in her hair, a finger ghosting lightly over her cheek on the way to her ear. She played with her hair, twisting it around a finger as she talked to him. Her eyes shimmered with clear attraction, crowned by her long, fine lashes._

* * *

_"Well, Dad, there's something I haven't told you yet," she said, sniffling as she got up._

_"After you found me at the Ruins of Time and I asked you if you were married and who my mother was, you were surprised because you weren't with anyone at the time. And when you asked me, I said I couldn't remember anything about her."_

_"Right. That's why we decided to keep trying to find her."_

_"But we never did."_

_At this Robin looked away slightly, ashamed at his failure to find the mother of his child._

_"No– Dad! Don't feel bad about it. There's a reason we never found her. Hold on a sec," Morgan said as she sat up on the bed and pulled the chain upon which her mother's ring hung out from under her shirt. "This is the one and only memory I have of mother. This ring…it's her engagement ring. The only thing I can remember is her giving it to me and telling me that you gave it to her when you proposed. It's the only keepsake I have from her. Look at it closely," she said, holding in front of her father's face. "Do you notice anything about it?"_

_Robin picked up the tarnished little circlet of silver and turned it over. He gasped. On one side was a circular purple gem, still shiny despite the blackened metal into which it was set. Surrounding the jewel was an engraved circle interwoven with six pointed knots._

_"Morga– is this?"_

_She nodded her head. "I searched so hard for your time's version of this ring after you guys found me, hoping that it might give me some leads towards finding Mom, but I always came up empty-handed. Now, though. Now I realize why. It would make sense only if Mom's ring wasn't from our world at all."_

* * *

_Morgan grinned conspiratorially at her brother before grabbing both Robins' hands and pulling them towards a table. "Come on you two! Let's go celebrate both of your promotions!"_

_"Alright, alright, stop pulling us kiddo, we're right behind you," chuckled her father as the four found a free spot. Kiran joined them with several bottles of champagne that night to celebrate their promotion after announcing an Order-wide holiday the next day, to the applause of the entire army. Many of the other members of the Order of Heroes stopped by their table to congratulate the promotion of the two tacticians and enjoy the night._

_Lyn and Lucina ended up pulling Morgan away to dance and celebrate, much to his sister's amusement, as she watched the two noble swordswoman each lay claim to one of his arms. The animosity between the two swordmaidens was clear though they were smiling at each other over the shorter boy's head. Despite their superficially pleasant expressions, if one looked closer, they would see that the smiles didn't quite reach their eyes. In fact, it seemed that they each had a clamp-like grip upon his arms and were actually trying to pull the uncomfortably blushing boy in separate directions and ._

_"Why, Lady Lyndis," Lucina said, making sure to be extra polite, "What a pleasure it is to see you this evening. I do believe I see Lords Hector and Eliwood calling for you right behind you. Why don't you go see what they want? I can keep Morgan company while you are busy."_

_"Why thank you, Princess Lucina," Lyn answered, just as sweetly. "But I do believe Ninian is with them. And I believe I see your father, Lord Chrom looking for you. Why don't you go see him? I'm sure whatever he has to say must be important. I think I can keep Morgan suitably entertained while you're gone."_

_"Interloper," Lucina hissed, still smiling with her eyes closed as a drop of sweat slid down her cheek._

_"Irritant," Lyn hissed back, with the same expression on her face._

* * *

What did you think of this little preview for the upcoming Xenologue? As always, please fave and follow, and feel free to leave your comments

Also, I finally pulled a Legendary Tiki in Heroes, today, and I'm so happy! I love my chubby little armored dragon babby!


	4. Paralogue 2: Trick or Defeat!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Haha whoops. Sorry, I guess I lied. Looks like y'all get a (belated) Halloween special before you do the first Xenologue (which is almost finished! I swear! I just have the last scene or two left to write!). This thing kind of spun out of control and grew a lot longer than I thought it would, at just over 14.5k words, which is over half of what Xenologue 1 is currently sitting at (23k words), but I'm also kind of pleased at this fact, since it means that I am now able to write longer and faster (compare the 4 days this took to the near month and a half I have been writing the Xenologue for).
> 
> Note: For clarity's sake, I want to inform you that when Veronica uses "We" or "Us" or "Our" with the capital first letter, she is using the so-called 'Royal We'. English, and most modern European IE languages don't have a formal and informal I, in the way that we do in Hindi (mein vs. ham; though that's also technically "I" vs. "we", but w/e) so I decided to use this to contrast the way she speaks when she's with her subjects or servants other than Leticia, with whom she uses "I", "me", and "mine", like any of us would. Of course, if y'all see her use one of these words without the capital…well, I'll just let y'all figure it out, nyehehe.
> 
> Now, on with the story!

* * *

  _ **"What's With This Sassy…Lonely Princess?"**_

**Paralogue 2: Trick or Defeat!**

* * *

 

( _Ten Months After Kiran's Summoning to Askr_ )

Kiran walked into the Great Hall one morning, seeking to break his fast. He found Anna therein, directing the castle serfs in decorating the chamber with tapestries woven with rich reds, golds, and dark greens, as well as other earthy colours, depicting bushels of wheat, grapes, and other signs of fertility.

After he grabbed a plate of food, he went to join the Askrian royal siblings at their table as was usual for him, only to stop short at the sight of the usually simply-dressed pair garbed in festive robes– Alphonse in a long, dark brown suit with a golden wheat pattern, and Sharena in a lovely dark green dress with an embroidered apple motif– fiddling around with little knives and…turnips?

"Sharena, Alphonse…what's going on?" Kiran asked hesitantly.

"Ah, Summoner! Good morning to you!" Alphonse said, surprisingly cheery.

"Kiran! Today's the harvest festival!" explained the peppy princess.

"What are you two doing?" he asked, pointing at the root vegetables in their hands.

"Oh oh! We're carving _Geistenwarden_ from turnips to ward off the bad spirits tonight and ensure a good and safe harvest! Join us!" Sharena exclaimed, showing Kiran the…face(?) she had carved into it. He felt a drop of sweat slide down the back of his neck as he involuntary took a step back. An artist she was not. "I'm sure any evil spirts will stay far away if they see that face."

' _If only because that thing is far more terrifying than any evil spirit I can think of._ '

"Aww, thank you! It's supposed to be Alphonse's face! Look," she said holding it up to her brother's face, which was wearing a rather annoyed expression. "Doesn't it look just like him?"

"Sh-Sharena!" Alphonse shouted, pushing the turnip away, his cheeks pink with embarrassment. "It doesn't really look like me, does it, Kiran?"

Kiran had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. Unfortunately for him though, he unwillingly let out a snort from his nose, which only drew the prince's attention.

"Kiran!" he cried, cheeks now a bright red against his fair face.

This, however, proved to be too much for the Summoner, who burst into laughter, bending over to hide the tears in his eyes, which only led Sharena to start laughing just as hard as Alphonse shrunk into himself, now red up to the tips of his ears. He suddenly tossed a large turnip at the Summoner, who juggled it around a few times, almost dropping it twice, before he caught.

"Let's see how good you do," the prince said surlily.

Wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes, Kiran took a deep breath and sat down. "Trying to brain your tactician with a turnip, Alphonse? I'll give you points for creativity, but here's a word of advice: next time try doing when there are fewer witnesses around, alright?" He took a bite of food and picked up his own knife, to start carving his own turnip, choosing to go the safe route and just make a standard jack-o-lantern pattern, with triangle eyes and fanged mouth.

"If I wanted your head, I wouldn't need a turnip," Alphonse muttered, still embarrassed.

"Oh that is certainly true, Your August and revered Majesty. Please forgive this mere servant for outstepping his bounds," Kiran replied, giving him a sarcastic little bow, whose effect was only enhanced by the fact that he was seated at the bench. Sharena at this point was nearly falling out of her seat from laughing so hard. Her face was also similarly red, though this was due more to covering her mouth with her hand to keep herself from making any more noise. She eventually calmed down and went back to hollowing out the turnip so they could put a candle inside later that night.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Kiran said after a few moments, breaking the silence. "We kind of have a similar tradition such as this in the land I hail from. There's a similar festival over there around…" he checked his phone for the date. "Oh! Today actually. It's called 'Halloween' or 'All Hallow's Eve', and it's roots, actually, are quite similar to this festival of yours, I think. Though, we carve these large orange gourds, called pumpkins. Do you guys not have those here in Zenith? Actually, now that I come to think of it, before the discovery of my country, the people in my world that originally celebrated that festival used to use turnips as well."

The two siblings looked up at him with surprise. "Pumpkins, you say? I think I've probably seen a do have them in Zenith, actually," Alphonse informed him.

"You do? How come you don't have any here? Especially around this time of year? They're one of my favourite foods." Something Alphonse said stuck out to him as odd. "Wait. 'Seen'? You make it sound as though you haven't had any in a long time."

"Well, the thing is," Alphonse began hesitantly, "while they do indeed grow on Zenith, they don't exactly grow all that well here, in Askr."

"Then whe– Embla."

"That's right. Sharena and I saw some when we were younger and our countries were still at peace, but since the war began again and Embla cut off all trade to us, it's been years since any pumpkins– as well with any other Emblian goods– have crossed our borders."

"Huh. How interesting!" Kiran remarked. A few moments later, he had put the finishing touches on his carved turnip when Feh flew over with a letter addressed to him. He looked at the sender's name on the envelope.

_From: The Rosenmaiden_

_To: The Elderbloom_

Kiran stood up immediately. That set of codenames was known only to one person other than himself. He couldn't wait to get back to his room and read it in privacy.

"Who's it from, Kiran?" Sharena asked curiously.

"Ah, um, it's uh…" he stumbled over his words, unsure of how to answer without revealing everything. "It's from a, uh, 'friend' of mine. Rose."

Alphonse smiled. "Well, it's nice that you're making 'friends' here. And it's good to see you're getting over Princess Veronica."

"Ahaha, y-yeah…" the Summoner replied shakily, with a nervous laugh. "R-right. So, uh, I'm gonna go back to my room and read this now, if Your Eminent Grace would be so kind as to give me leave?" he asked with an ironic bow.

"Yes, yes, get out of here before I throw another turnip at you," the prince grumbled.

"Your word is my will, Milord," Kiran said with a wry smile.

"Don't think I can't see that smile under there, Kiran," Alphonse said, threateningly holding up a rather large turnip. Deciding that he'd teased Alphonse sufficiently to get the pair of siblings off his track, Kiran concluded that discretion was the better part of valour and beat a hasty retreat back to his room.

He barely made back into his private quarters and shut the door before he set upon that envelope like a wolf, prying open the thick wax seal with a blade as fast as he could. It was from Leticia!

At some point after he had sent that first letter to the princess of Embla– followed by many others afterwords– it seemed he had caught the attention of her personal handmaiden, Leticia, and she wrote one back to him– the first he had ever received from Castle Embla. She told him how she wanted her mistress to find love and happiness in her life, something she was sorely lacking, due to her father (and mother's death), her brother's disappearance, and her stepmother's neglect. Reading that had nearly broken Kiran's heart, and he vowed in that moment that he would be the one to bring her all the love and happiness she deserved for the rest of her days. Leticia had also been the one to establish their codenames: Rosenmaiden for herself, as the handmaiden to the princess of thorns herself, who, naturally, was referred to as Lady Rose, and Elderbloom for him, a reference to the tea he had originally sent her. This was a way to keep both of them safe, as their identities would remain hidden if their letters fell into the wrong hands.

Kiran pulled the letter out of the envelope with trembling hands. As he opened it up, a thick card fell out from it, which he picked up. It was a deep, rich black, embossed with golden-orange lettering and ornamentation, inviting the bearer to attend a ball at the Imperial Palace in Embla. Curious and confused, Kiran decided to read the letter and see what word Leticia had for him.

_Dear Elderbloom,_

_I hope this letter finds thee well and in good health. The weather has begun to take a turn for the colder, and the winter winds will start to blow in from Nifl. But before that, we should take the time to celebrate this season, this glorious Fall, and enjoy the blessings of the Earth and her harvest. To this end, the Imperial Family of Embla host each year a masked ball at the capital, attended by all manner of nobility and wealthy merchants. This year's ball will also mark Lady Rose's official debut into Emblian high society, and thou canst be certain that she shall be courted by any number of the aforementioned figures who all seek to make inroads with the Imperial Family. Thou knowest already of that I am a steady supporter of thine love for my lady, and I would that she give her hand and heart to a man who would truly love her than some mere opportunist._

_To that end, I have enclosed within this letter an invitation for thee to be able to attend the ball this evening. I will have a carriage prepared for thee at the edge of the garden where the roses bloom, beyond the elderflowers' forest. I urge thee to come there before the sun fully sets so that thou mayst make full use of the time that tonight grants thee. Within the carriage, I will also have prepared a costume and mask for thee, as the ball is, in fact, a masquerade. When thou arrivest, thou shalt be announced as the duke of a minor provincial duchy, to avoid attracting too much attention to yourself. Shouldst thine affections towards milady be shown to be reciprocated, thou shouldst expect to attract the envy and enmity of some among the number of higher-ranked nobles and merchant princes. This should not be a problem, however, as thou shalt doff this false identity for but one night, and then disappear. Still, I say this now to forewarn thee of any possible one does hope to meet thee at least this once in person and thank thee for the love thou holdest for mine Lady._

_My Lady's True Servant,_

_– Rosenmaiden_

Kiran gasped in shock at the message. Looking out the window, he saw that the sun had already passed its zenith, and sundown was soon approaching. He didn't have long to get ready! Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. which caused him to nearly jump out of his skin. He hid the letter under his bed sheets, and yelled "Coming!"

After taking a moment to calm his fast-beating heart, Kiran walked over and opened the door to see Sharena there.

"Kiran! I forgot to ask earlier, but you will be attending the festivities tonight, right? The whole festival goes on till the end of the week, but tonight's going to be amazing since the _Geistenwarden_ will look best when they're freshly-carved," she informed him, looking at him expectantly. Kiran felt somewhat bad at having to betray his friend's expectations, but there was no way he was missing that ball at the Imperial Palace tonight even if it killed him! Still, he couldn't just blow Sharena off. Not only was she his close friend and supporter, but also the princess of this realm.

"I, uh…I was thinking of going out for a bit tonight, down to the town, and seeing how things are like over there," he said, noticing her excited expression slowly sadden. "But! I, uh, might be a bit late but I'll try my best to make it tonight, alright?!"

The blonde princess cheered up and gave him a quick hug. "Wonderful! Ah, I can't believe I didn't realize," she said, her face taking on a smug look.

_'Oh no.'_

"You're going to meet 'Rose', aren't you?" she asked, making sure to wink and put special emphasis on the false name he had given her and and her brother earlier.

"Ah, uh, yes. Yes I am." It was technically true. He was. In a way. And she was his friend. In a way.

Sharena just smirked at him and patted him on the shoulder as she sauntered away.

_'Oh gods…'_

Kiran held his face in both of his hands, uncertain of how long he would be able to keep this misconception going. Sighing, he sent out four messages, asking Nowi, Henry, Jakob, and Sakura to meet him outside the castle in an hour, ready to leave on a secret mission.

The Summoner somehow managed to avoid running into either of the Askr royals or Commander Anna as he slipped outside. He had just barely turned the corner of the castle to where he was supposed to meet his party of four when something barreled into him from behind, knocking him to the ground.

"Ow…someone get the license plate of the truck that hit me," he groaned.

"Oops! Sorry Kiran!" came Nowi's cheerful voice from atop his back, as she patted him on the head like a little child. "Henry and I were playing Hide-and-Dragon-go-Seek, and I guess I kind of got a little too into it, heehee!"

"Nyahaha!" came Henry's…er, only slightly maniacal laughter from behind him. They were working on that together with Olivia. And he was getting better. Sort of. "Are you sure you're alright, Kiran? You sure took one hex of a fall! Nyehehehe!" Okay, so it wasn't working exactly as hoped for. Bite him.

"I'm…ugh, alright."

"Well that's good! Are you bleeding?" Henry asked. "Mmm, blood," He muttered under his breath, though Kiran still caught it.

"Er no, I don't think s–"

"Want me to check?!–" the dark mage asked again, sounding a bit too excited. Kiran was sure that all this talk about blood was definitely making it drain from his face.

"Nope! I'm good! Haha, fit as a fiddly do, haha. Ha." The Summoner let out a fake laugh he hoped was enough to get Henry off his back.

"Aww, okay. Maybe next time."

Speaking of getting people off his back– "Nowi, could you please get off of my back? I kind of need to stand up."

"Aww." He could hear the pout in her voice as she messed up his hair for a few more moments before finally letting up and getting off his back. "But your hair was so soft! You have to make it up to me and bend down to let me pat you on the head next time, okay?" she said, glaring up at him with the most adorable little glare he had ever seen, though he chose to keep that to himself.

"Uh…yeah. Sure."

"A-are y-you okay?" asked a girl's voice timidly. Up ahead, Princess Sakura of Hosido, and Jakob, the Corrin's butler from Nohr, entered the small glade they were in, seemingly drawn by the noise. The girl held out her staff and a wave of healing magic passed through him, seemingly restoring him to perfect health and cleanliness. Thank goodness. He had taken a bath before leaving, and really did not want to be attending the masquerade covered in dirt and dust.

"Ah, yes, Princess Sakura. Thank you. I'm fi–"

"He's fine, Lady Sakura. Such a tumble never killed anyone."

_'Wow. Thanks Jakob. I'll remember that next time you get hurt in battle.'_

"B-but he…"

"As Jakob said, I'm quite alright. And your healing helped out a ton, so I'm all good. More importantly, I called you all here because we're all going on a mission tonight."

"This had better important enough to justify pulling me away their Lordships," Jakob said sourly.

"Aww, but I wanted to go to the party!" came Nowi's voice.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, but this is a super important mission. Top-secret. And you guys are the only ones I can trust for this. I'll try to get us back in time for you all to enjoy the festivities. Besides, Nowi, if everything goes well, you'll be able to enjoy a party when we get to where we're going."

"Ooh! A top-secret party? I'm in!" cried the manakete, instantly cheered up.

"A-are you sure you want m-me for this?" asked Princess Sakura, looking down at the ground as rubbed the back of her hand.

"Absolutely. I wouldn't have asked for you if I didn't believe in you, your Highness. In fact, you've got a very important super-special role tonight. And besides, you've helped me quite a bit already now, haven't you?" Kiran asked with a reassuring smile.

"O-okay! I-if you're sure I'm up to it! I-I'll do my best!"

"Thank you all for coming. Our mission is to infiltrate a very fancy-schmancy party in the capital of Embla. More specifically, we will be sneaking inside the yearly masquerade held by the Imperial Family of Embla inside the Imperial Palace. We are there to gather as much knowledge we can glean from listening into the discussions of the chief nobles and merchants of that country. And, if possible, to sow the seeds of confusion, by spreading false rumours."

"And just how do you propose we do that?" Asked Jakob suspiciously.

Kiran reached into his breast pocket and pulled out the invitation card, holding it up for all to examine. "I may or may not have a secret agent on the inside," he said smugly. "In reality, there's going to be less sneaking in and more just…dissimulating ourselves in. My contact has arranged for me to take on the persona of a minor noble from some provincial duchy and has prepared a carriage for us, along with a costume for me. Now, considering Princess Veronica has already seen my face, I will need to be most careful. That's where you come in, Jakob. Your job is to get me ready once we get inside the carriage and make sure I look clean and presentable."

The butler nodded with a serious expression on his face, any traces of his earlier banter gone.

"Now Princess Sakura, remember how I said you have a very important role?"

She nodded back.

"I need your help to mould me into a member of the nobility. At least in terms of behaviour. Basically, I need you to give me a crash course on how to speak, act, and just generally conduct myself in the presence of my 'peers', on the way to the border and during the carriage ride. Think you can do that?"

The shy princess smiled and nodded her assent.

"Phew, thank you. I don't know what I would have done had you said no. I guess I could have asked Maribelle but I'd rather not get whacked by her parasol for holding my pinky out at the wrong angle. I don't know what she's got hidden inside that thing, but I could have sworn I once saw her break a training dummy's head with it." Kiran shuddered. "But anyways, I'm getting off track. I need you and Jakob to also act as my retainers once we get inside. I also have something very important I need you to hold for me if you wouldn't mind," Kiran said, handing her a thin wooden box around two hands wide in the shape of a square. "My apologies in advance for giving you such a lowly role, your Highness."

The Hoshidan princess giggled. "I-it's okay, I'm just glad I c-can help."

"Thank you so much," Kiran answered back, giving her a short bow. "Nowi, Henry," he said, turning to his remaining companions. "You guys are basically going to be the firepower on this mission. I'm going to need y'all to be our backup, in case things go south real quick and we end up needing to bust out of there. Nowi, I've got an Emblian Legion manakete uniform for you here. And Henry, I've got a mage's uniform for you too."

"Nyahaha, cawstumes sure are a hoot, aren't they?!"

"Henry…those aren't even the same…birds…though…" Kiran said, dumbfounded, before shaking his head. "Whatever, I'm getting off track again. We don't have much time. I made sure to get four horses ready ahead of time. They should be all tacked up and ready to go. I made sure they were tied right about…here," he said, leading them into the woods behind the castle, where there were indeed four horses, tied to a few trees in a little clearing.

Kiran climbed up onto the saddle after helping Nowi and Princess Sakura. "Alright. Let's go."

* * *

 

And the four rode like thunder.

Three hours later, the group of five had made it to the edges of Askr. Just past the mountains up ahead, which formed a natural border, was their mortal foe– the Emblian Empire. Kiran, who had grown tired of trying cram Princess Sakura's etiquette lessons as best he could while also riding a horse that was galloping at full speed, suddenly felt a burst of new energy at the thought of soon seeing his Beloved, the beautiful Princess Veronica. At the realization that they were nearing their destination, Kiran found his thoughts drifting towards his ultimate goal of winning her heart. He pushed on ahead of his companions and broke out of the woods onto the plain leading to the mountains. There was no real road to speak of here because of the area's status as a border zone, which served to make it harder for any invading force to simply roll on through. Unfortunately, it also meant that Kiran and company had to dismount from their steeds and make the rest of the journey on foot. And though he laughed and spoke with his companions, Kiran was restless with their speed. In his eagerness to see the girl who had stolen his heart, he found it hard to keep from simply sprinting to the carriage as swiftly as his feet would take him.

Unfortunately for the lovestruck boy, there was a trial that he would have to face before he could even get that far.

"Uh-oh," Henry chuckled darkly. "Looks we have some _caws_ for concern. I think there's a _murder_ of enemies coming our way, Kiran. Nyehehehe…but murder for who, I wonder."

The Summoner was about to respond to the dark mage, when the air around them suddenly darkened, despite the remaining sunlight, and a march of glowing green ghosts, wailing horribly rushed past in front of him, causing him to jump back in alarm. He had no time to gather his bearings however, as just at that very instant, a blur came swooping through the air firing a stream of spooky spirits in the form of black cats, jack-o-lanterns, and bats, among other things, at the party. Kiran was forced to throw himself to the side and roll away to avoid the attack. He recovered from the sudden maneuver quickly and turned and pointed Breidablik at the retreating flyer before pulling the trigger. There was a burst of magic from the relic as Nowi disappeared, before shooting out from the relic's 'barrel' in her dragon form as she flew after the mysterious attacker.

Henry cut through the ghastly ghosts with a red blade tome, only to find a version of himself standing on the other side…dressed as a vampire holding a giant coffin with Grima's symbol on it?! Kiran had to rub his eyes to ensure he wasn't seeing doubles, but there he was. Henry, in all his vampiric glory, with a glowing green tome in his other hand and a crow perched on his shoulder. Besides him stood another Jakob, dressed like a monster, wielding a bow, and another Princess Sakura, dressed like a cat spirit and holding a throwing weapon.

Just then, Nowi landed beside him with a "thump", still in her dragon form. Above her, on a broom, flying in circles, was…another Nowi?! Dressed as a witch, to boot!

"Well then. This is getting weird," he remarked drily to no one in particular.

"Henry, you wanna take care of that one over there?" he asked pointing at the Plegian's costumed counterpart.

"Wizard fight! Wizard fight!" his Henry cheered, firing a series magic swords from his spell-book.

"Wizard fight! Wizard fight!" cried the other one, shooting off another spell from his Spectral Tome.

"Nowi! You take care of that one!"

"Got it!" she shouted, firing off a draconic breath charged with lightning energy. "How do you like that?!" she challenged?

The flying manakete witch zipped around on her broom, dodging all of his Nowi's attacks while firing back with her, which splashed more or less harmlessly off of his unit's scales. The fight was decided a few moments later, when his Nowi clipped the end of her broom with her breath attack, sending her spiraling down to the ground.

On the other side, Henry had shattered his opponent's coffin with his bladetome, defeating him. Jakob and the Hoshidan Princess, too, had taken care of their opponents.

"Good job you four. Princess, would you mind healing them back up so we can send them back to their homes?" Kiran asked. She nodded and used her Restore staff to bring their former opponents back to life, now that they were freed from Princess Veronica's contract.

"Thank you guys for helping free us!" the other Nowi said, right as rain. She flew over on her and patted Kiran on the head. "What a good boy. Ah! Your hair is so soft, heehee!"

"Isn't it?" asked his Nowi, joining in.

"H-here's some candy…" said the cat-costumed Princess Sakura, handing them all some chocolates.

"Finally, I can stop wasting time here and get back to serving my liege," muttered the Jakob in a monster costume.

"That sure was fun! You really made me eat crow!" laughed the vampiric Henry. "I haven't that much fun since magic camp, Nyehehe. I hope you call on us again!"

Their attackers departed and the party made their way towards the carriage again.

By the time the battle was over, the sun had already set a quarter of the way. The five made haste for where the carriage was awaiting them, despite their tiredness, due to the delay the fight had caused them.

After about another half hour of trekking through the border plains, Kiran and his party snuck into Embla through a secret mountain passage laid out by Leticia that helped them bypass the border guards altogether. Kiran thanked Leticia's kindness and his own lucky stars that they found their way out of that passage into the carriage that was awaiting them, hidden behind a rocky outcropping. The driver started at seeing three unknown figures being escorted by what looked like Emblian soldiers coming towards him, and made ready to run away, before the Summoner pulled out his invitation and held it up for him to see.

The driver breathed a sigh of relief at the sight, glad that he wasn't about to be arrested or executed for treason and greeted the party of five.

"The branch of the eldertree grows towards the rosebush," Kiran replied with the code phrase Leticia had set up.

The five of them made their way inside the rather spacious, seven-horse carriage, and started getting ready for their infiltration. Jakob reluctantly helped him into his costume and fixed the mask to his face so it wouldn't fall off. The clothing Leticia had provided for him was a finely tailored suit; there was an undershirt of soft wool, over which he wore a tunic of thick, black silk which was embroidered with a pattern of large pumpkins on vines. Atop the tunic went a vest of golden silk, embroidered with the same pattern, but with black thread, creating an inversion of the tunic's design. Around his shoulders hung a long cape of black wool, lined on the inside with golden silk. Leticia had also provided him with a pair of black silk pantaloons and long black boots which went up to the base of his knees. On his face was a golden mask that covered the top half of his face, shaped like a pumpkin with triangular eyes carved into it that hid the majority of his features.

Two hours later, the carriage driver announced that they were approaching the western gates of the capital city of Embla. They cracked open the slats of the carriage windows to take a look. The sun had set long ago, but a large, orange full moon glowed brilliantly in the sky, casting an unearthly glow on the city below. A sight of sweeping, gothic steeples greeted their eyes. At the center of the rapidly-nearing city, atop a hill, rose the largest of these buildings. Multiple dizzying spires and towers, capped in beaten gold that shined in the light of the harvest moon rose up from the darkness of the earth below.

They held their breath as the driver was stopped by the guards. The security was tightened for the festival since it was war time, he had warned them on the way there. Thankfully, it seemed his paperwork was all in order, and once the guards looked inside and saw what did indeed appear to be a rather wealthy minor noble guarded by two Emblian soldiers– including a manakete and a mage!– they let Kiran and his retinue through without much issue.

After about twenty minutes of observing the gaily-decorated streets, lit with strings of orange paper lanterns and many carved pumpkins with candles placed inside, the group arrived at the gates to the castle, where another set of guards stopped them. These were even more thorough in their inspection of the party, but it seemed that Leticia's disguise was solid enough for them to allow the carriage to enter the Imperial Palace grounds. The driver pulled the carriage up to the entrance of the palace before hopping down and opening up the door. He placed a set of stairs in front of the door to allow the 'duke' to descend more gracefully. First came Nowi, playing the role of the bodyguard perfectly. She was followed by Kiran, dressed as a minor noble, behind whom was Jakob, the perfect steward. Next was Sakura, dressed as an Emblian cleric, and last of all was Henry, the rearguard of the group.

They were ushered into the foyer of the palace and into the main imperial ballroom wherein the celebration was being held. As the doors opened, a crier announced his presence.

"Now presenting! Duke Varynys of Province Rann!"

The present nobles and high merchants tittered and whispered to each other as 'Duke Varynys' entered with his entourage. While having a guard detail of a manakete and a mage was rather rare– particularly for a provincial lord– for the decadent aristocrats and waremongers attending the ball, most of whom were fully insulated from the effects of the war and whose biggest daily concerns tended to revolve around the question of how to outdo their peers socially, what most drew their attention was Kiran's outfit. Many of the partygoers wore similar outfits– silk tunics, woolen capes, pantaloons. What stood out on Kiran's suit, however, was the pumpkin motif embroidered so boldly on his clothing and his mask. Where most of the revelers there were dressed as various monsters or frightening animals, the ersatz duke was the only one wearing an agriculturally-themed outfit. The degenerate nobles and uppity merchants laughed and mocked his clothing among each other.

"I must confess," tittered one rather corpulent lady nearby who was nearly bursting out of the seams of a light blue silk angel costume in an ear-piercingly high voice, "I don't believe I've ever heard of the Duchy of Rann!"

"Ohohoho!" laughed her friend, a similarly rotund noblewomen who was dressed in a black devil costume. "He must really be from the provinces!"

Similar conversations about this heretofore unknown Duke Varynys were taking place around the ballroom. Kiran just hid his smirk behind a goblet of wine he had picked up from one of the serfs walking around. Leticia's plan was going perfectly. He would hide in plain sight by becoming the center of attention as an object of ridicule. By playing the part of a minor provincial noble, unaware of the customs of the 'city-folk'– barely a step up from a country yokel to these folks– he would be able to play off his knowledge of Emblian customs as a result of his distant upbringing from the imperial capital.

Jakob and Princess Sakura followed dutifully behind him as he walked around the ballroom listening in on the various conversations going on as Nowi and Henry– in their Emblian Legion uniforms– flanked him on either side. After some time of doing this, Kiran and his company heard a large bell toll ten times, announcing the time. The assembled revelers grew silent and looked up at the main staircase leading up to the indoor balcony of the ballroom on the second level. Kiran and his party looked up as the doors at the top of the stairs opened up and out stepped another serf, who took a deep breath before beginning to speak.

"Now presenting! At her imperial debut! Her August Majesty, the Dragon's Daughter, Her Imperial Highness, Princess Veronica of Embla!"

The room as a whole dropped to one knee, with their heads bowed. Kiran and his entourage followed soon after.

He heard the clacking of heals on the stairs above getting louder as they descended and couldn't keep his gaze from drifting upwards. Apparently, he wasn't the only, as sighs of appreciation filled the room.

Kiran looked up. In front of him was the vision of Beauty and Grace themselves given form and incarnated into living flesh. Princess Veronica walked down the stairs dressed in a gown of midnight dark silk, lined with fur, which was cinched around her slender waist with a belt of thin gold chains. Around her shoulders hung a cloak of black feathers whose tips had been gilded, that was held in place with a golden brooch in the shape of a dragon's head, and she wore her Imperial Tiaras and other regalia, newly polished and gleaming, atop her own head. A gold mask, shaped like a pair of wings, covered the part of her face around her eyes. Kiran found himself unable to tear his eyes off her form as she drew ever closer with each step. Her pale, creamy skin, her thick, silvery hair, her rosy, pink lips, and her bright, crimson eyes– these all filled his sight and heart as they veritably glowed in the light of all the lanterns in the ballroom.

The princess stopped at the top of the lower of the two flights of stairs and cleared her throat. "We thank you," she proclaimed, her beautiful voice sending the Summoner's heart aflutter, "for attending this celebration held in my honour during this time of war. It is important for us to remember why we fight, and equally as important for us to take a rest from such strains as we do. That you have come to Our debut is a kindness that shall be remembered by Us in the years to come. Your fealty behooves you, loyal subjects of Our empire. and shall not go unrewarded. But for tonight, We urge you to eat, drink, and make merry, on this night of the Harvest."

The ballroom burst into applause as the princess finished her speech. Kiran was sure, however, that he was clapping the hardest of all, his explosive applause drowning out any of his neighbours, whose own applause was polite than anything sincere. The princess' ruby eyes glanced his way for a second, drawn by the noise. The Summoner felt his face grow warm as their eyes met; her eyes widened briefly before she narrowed her gaze, and he feared that his disguise had been seen through, before she turned away and disappeared into the crowd. This was perhaps the first time he had seen and heard her at her true imperial majesty, and he had to admit, it was perhaps the most attractive thing he had ever experienced. He felt his cheeks flush and was grateful for the mask hiding his face, not only because it obscured his face but also how much of a lovestruck fool he truly was.

Jakob coughed into his fist, breaking Kiran from his reverie, and whispered in the false duke's ear. "Let us get moving, we have more information to gather." Kiran sighed internally, as he beat himself up for making up that excuse, before he nodded. He saw Veronica dancing her debut dance with her steward, an old man who had essentially raise her, he later found out, and was taking the place of her father, who had died years back. Kiran spent the rest of the nighttrying to interact with the various nobles and merchant-princes in attendance, but most answered his question very perfunctorily before making some excuse and leaving if they didn't simply treat him with outright disdain. He found that he didn't mind all that much anyways, as his own attention wandered over to see what Princess Veronica was doing. The few times he saw her, she was either schnoozing with various wealthy merchants or dancing with some well-dressed noble, and he had to grind his teeth as he burned with envy.

After about an hour of this, Kiran felt completely exhausted, and practically collapsed onto a couch as Princess Sakura handed him a glass of chilled pumpkin juice. He thanked her and took a sip before sighing. Leticia's plan was working well. A little too well, perhaps. Very few of the revelers were willing to give him the time of day, and he could still hear some of them who were standing around him gossiping about his supposed background. He knew it was all an act, at the end of the day, but it still kind of hurt to be so overtly excluded. He chuckled bitterly and shook his head, before he felt a presence behind him.

"We, for one, find this costume rather charming," declared a clarion clear voice from behind him that silenced the gossipy nobles and sent his heart-rate sky-high. He looked up and found himself gazing into the depths of a pair of eyes as red as the blood that ran in his veins, which were framed by a golden masquerade mask. He felt a hand brush his shoulder, lingering briefly on the embroidered vines and pumpkins before retreating. Kiran's felt a lot hotter all of a sudden as he realized just how close he was to the figure of his affections.

Unfortunately for him, it seemed that Princess Veronica wasn't quite finished with him. She held out a hand. "Would you care for a a dance?" Kiran nearly tripped over himself trying to get up off the couch.

"Y-yes, Milady! Er, your Gra– your Highness!"

The princess' lips quirked slightly into an amused smirk as he took hold of her outstretched hand, and she led him to the center of the ballroom. She guided his hands, so warm, one held in hers, the other to her hip, as they began to move to the music. "Hm hm," she quietly chuckled to herself, looking into the ersatz duke's eyes, where his warm, dark eyes, gazed back at her, wide-eyed and enchanted.

"Your Highness?" Kiran asked, simultaneously confused and elated.

"Duke Varynys of Rann. You certainly seem to be the talk of the party tonight, what with this outfit of yours." Her right hand, pressed against his breast, could surely feel the beating of his heart, which only grew faster as she felt the design, he thought. "Some people here seem to think your dress quite provincial, though, as I have already said, I find it…charming, in its own way."

Kiran once again felt grateful for the mask that covered his cheeks, which were surely as red as any apple by now. "Your Highness?" he ventured hesitantly. "Why did you ask me to dance? N-not that I'm not honoured or happy that you did!"

"Ufufu…why indeed. After hearing about you all night, I suppose I wanted to see this sight for myself," she smirked.

"Milady!" Kiran pouted.

"'Twas because when I saw you, you were looking a bit like an abandoned little kitten. And I suppose I couldn't just let you alone in that state, especially after you've come so far." Kiran's ears were visibly red now. "In truth, I felt some sort of familiarity with you," she continued, scrutinizing his face. You remind me of someone I know well." Kiran drew a sharp breath in his surprise. "And yet, I know we've never met. You haven't ever left your duchy to attend any functions here in the Capital, as far as I'm aware. What changed your mind?"

Kiran took a deep breath, glad that he had his backstory to fall back on to answer her. "Well, Your Highness. My domains are indeed far from the Capital, which is why I've held off on coming to pay my respects and swear my fealty for so long, a sin for which I do hope Your Highness might forgive me. But I knew I would eventually have to one day, and, well," he looked away, unable to match her gaze with what he was about to say, "rumours of Your Highness' beauty have reached even us, out in the hinterlands. And when I heard Your Higheness would be making her official debut, I knew this would be the right moment. And…I'm glad I came." He could have sworn he saw her cheeks pinken in hue.

"You are quite the flatterer, Duke Varynys, and quite well-spoken for one from afar. I might have to be careful. You seem far more dangerous than any of these other men who wish to court me. They only want me for my wealth and name, but you seem to be true in your admiration."

Kiran blushed at her assessment of him, though he was also very happy that she recognized his feelings.

She was silent for a second before she spoke up again. "And you may call me Lady Veronica, if you wish," she said with another smirk.

"Your High– no. Lady Veronica! Is…Would that truly be okay? For one such as myself to even utter your name so casually…Would not people see it as rude?"

She laughed, a musical sound. "If…haha…if it is, then I will be sure to let them know I gave you permission."

They glided across the ballroom floor, spinning round and round, for what seemed like an eternity to Kiran, who was basically on cloud nine. Sadly, the music had to stop eventually. The pair stopped dancing, along with the other revelers and caught their breath. Kiran smiled up shyly at the princess who had up until then been in his arms. She gave him a small smile as well, before disentangling herself from his hold. "Well then, Duke Varynys," she began, smoothing out her hair and dress. "Thank you for the dance; it was quite enjoyable."

"N-no, thank you, Lady Veronica! It was my honour and pleasure!"

"Ufufu. Was it now?" She turned around and made to leave, her gown swaying behind her as she walked away, her heels clacking against the ground. She suddenly stopped, after she had taken a few steps, before partially turning back towards him with her lips quirked in a teasing smile. "And as far as forgiving your 'sin' goes, I think you will have to try to convince me again– next time." She swept her cape around behind her as she walked away and disappeared into the crowd again.

Kiran was unable to tear his eyes away from where she disappeared, even as his heart sank as she left. The very next second, came a low whisper in his ear. "The Rosenmaiden waits for the rising sun."

Kiran whipped around, only to find a serf with a smile on his face holding out another goblet of wine. "Another drink., sir?" he asked, pressing the drink into his hand. "Certainly, milord!" Kiran took the proffered cup with a dumbfounded look and the serf disappeared back into the crowd.

Around the stem of the goblet was a small piece of folded paper. Someone was trying to pass a message to him? Kiran moved to the corner and quickly unfolded the message.

_Dear Elderbloom,_

_Thine handmaid waits in the eastern garden. Prithee, do not keep her long, lest her heart grow cold in the Autumn winds._

_–Rosenmaiden_

Leticia! She was nearby! He wheeled around excitedly, catching sight of a set of glass doors that led out onto a moonlit garden, and if his sense of direction was right, then that was indeed the east!

He rushed through the crowd and out the doors, too fast even for his entourage to follow.

"Rose!" he whispered loudly. "Where are you?"

Out from behind a tree stepped a comfortably pretty woman who looked to be in her late twenties, dressed in the garb of a maid. On her face was a mask shaped like a pair of bird wings, much like Veronica's, though this woman's was black. In her hand, she carried a Candlelight staff.

"The Gardener has broken the solitude of the Rose Garden," she greeted him in code.

"The Elderblossoms fall gently among the Roses, white upon red," Kiran answered likewise.

After a few moments of silence, she smile and pulled off her mask, revealing a pair of kindly brown eyes. Kiran took off his mask as well, finally showing her his face as well. The two co-conspirators saw each other face to face for the first time. Jakob and the rest of his entourage came running outside right behind him, only to see him take his mask off in front of some unknown woman. "Sum– _Duke Varynys_ , please do not leave us behind like tha–"

"Leticia!" Kiran cried, flinging himself towards the maid with his arms wide open and cutting the butler off, mid admonition.

"Sir Kiran!" she whispered back, just as excitedly, returning the hug warmly. They held it for a few seconds before Leticia pulled away and held Kiran at arm's length, examining his face closely. She smiled at him again, seemingly satisfied, and gave him a quick hug before stepping back. "It is so wonderful to see you in person!"

"I should be saying that!" Kiran laughed. "I wouldn't even be here if not for you. Thank you so much for your help! I appreciate it so much."

"No, no. Thank _you_. I wouldn't have gone this far if I didn't think your feelings towards my lady were real. I do so hope you two can find happiness together, despite the state of our countries now."

Seeing as this woman somehow knew their Summoner's real name, Jakob felt it alright to use the title as he approached cautiously, slipping a dagger out from the sleeve of his coat into his palm, in case she proved to be a threat. "Summoner, who is this woman?"

"This was the 'inside agent' I was telling you guys about earlier!" Kiran said, turning around with a big smile on his face. "Everyone, meet Leticia, codename: Rosenmaiden."

"Ooh, so this is that 'Rose' person Princess Sharena keeps going on about!" Nowi giggled.

Kiran sighed as he imagined the peppy Askrian princess telling everyone about his purported crush on 'Rose'. He'd probably need to have a talk with her later. "Anyways," he said after a moment, "it's all thanks to her that we were even able to make it here. I…have something I need to do. Princess Sakura, would you mind handing me that box I gave you earlier?"

"A-ah, yes," she said digging around for it in her healer's pouch. "Here it is…w-what's inside, if y-you don't mind my asking?"

"Well," Kiran looked around, "come closer." The others gathered around him and he opened up the box to reveal a circlet made from several silver hoops wide enough to fit around a person's head like a crown. Woven into them, however, were sprays of elderflowers, which shone just as brightly as the metal under the white light of the moon.

"Aww, i-it's so pretty!"

"Thank you, Your Highness, I made it myself!" Kiran said proudly.

"Wowee," Nowi said. "Is that for Miss 'Rose'?" Nowi asked, waggling her eyebrows. "You should've put roses in it in that case!" she teased him.

Leticia started laughing softly behind him. "Why, Sir Kiran! Is that so? I sure am flattered, but here I thought you were a loyal man. Perhaps I should reconsider helping you?"

"Wha– I– no! This is for Princess Veronica!" he said, blushing. "Leticia, stop laughing!"

Unfortunately for him, this only had the effect of making the handmaid laugh even harder, which made Nowi join in too.

"Heehee, aww, Kiran, are you blushing?"

He was fairly sure he even heard Princess Sakura giggling faintly, though she at least had the decency to try and hide it. Kiran looked up at Jakob for help, but found no mercy there. If anything, the prickly butler looked like he was enjoying watching him writhe in embarrassment. Sadist.

"A-Anyawy, I think we've plenty of good information tonight, just from eavesdropping," he told his units. "We should be good with just this. Now, we may need to get out of here real quick depending on how things go next. You guys should stay out here and be ready to leave when I get back."

"I put aside some food and drinks for you all," Leticia spoke up, pulling out a large cloth-covered basket. "You four can enjoy them out here while you wait."

"Wow! Thanks, Leticia!"

"T-thank you, Miss Leticia."

"Nyaha, I guess this will keep me busy for a little while!"

"Indeed. Thank you, maid. It is good to see someone so devoted to their duty. Though I don't know if I'd let this one near my liege."

"Yeah, alright, _thanks_ , Jakob. Love you too."

The maid just laughed before pulling out a smaller basket from behind the bush and handing to Kiran. "Here, hold this. Shall we go?"

"Sure. What's in this though?"

"I'll tell you on the way," she answered, leading him towards the servants' exit. Thankfully, nearly everyone else was either serving the guests at the ball or had already left for home to celebrate so they were able to make it into the palace interior without running into anyone else. Kiran put his mask back on just in case they did encounter anyone. Leticia lit up the way with her Candlelight staff and led Kiran through the servants' paths.

"So, what's in this basket?"

"I made some food for the two of you to share, if everything works out. I made her favourites. I hope you enjoy it too, because if things go well, you'll probably be eating all of this often in the future."

Kiran blushed at the implication before smiling. "I hope so too." A thought struck him. "Wait, why are we going into the Palace, anyways? Wouldn't Lady Veronica still be at the ball? It is her debut after all."

"Ah, no, Milady is not one for these sorts of events. She finds them dreadfully dull and usually just leaves early. She's also got a keen eye, and isn't fond of most of the people who attend these events. She knows that most of them are just after her money or her name. She was obligated to go tonight because it was her debut ball, but she had already informed me that she would be returning to her quarters after speaking with 'Duke Varynys'," Leticia said with a sly smile.

"I seriously owe you for this, Leticia. I don't think I can ever pay you back for helping me this way."

"I'm not doing it just for you, you know?" she asked with a laugh. "I truly came to care for Milady over the years, and judging by what she's said about you over the last few months, I think she's also curious about you."

"Wait. She talks about me?!" Kiran asked, suddenly energized.

"Indeed she does, though I'm not at liberty to reveal what Milady tells me. Though, let me put it like this– I wouldn't have asked you to come here today, if not for what she's told me about you. And so far, I think I've made the right choice. We're here," she said, stopping at the end of a hallway on the palace's southern wing. "So don't let me down now, alright, Sir Kiran?"

"Yes ma'am!" Kiran said, snapping of a salute.

"These are her chambers. If you go out this balcony and climb around the wall, you can climb into her balcony and knock on her window."

Kiran felt the blood drain from his face as he thought about the task.

"Oh, don't worry so much," Leticia said with a laugh as she pulled out a length of rope from her apron. "Just tie this around your waist. I'll tie the other end here," she said, pointing to the solid stone bannister, and hold you up from this side so you don't fall down." Kiran nodded his head and made a determined face as he looped the rope around his body and tied it tightly, before clambering up onto the bannister. Thankfully, the crenelations on the wall were just wide enough for one foot and the upper balcony floors close enough to grab from below. Kiran did a strange sort of crab shuffle along the edge of the wall as he rounded the corner to Princess Veronica's balcony, trying not to look down.

Finally, after what felt like several long, shaky, and terrifying aeons (in reality, it was about three minutes at most) he saw the bannister of Veronica's balcony and quickly stepped over onto the wider surface. Unfortunately for him, he did not expect the Princess of Embla to be sitting in a chair, reading a book on her balcony in the middle of the night, as the moonlight shining on her form gave her an ephemeral, almost ghost-like appearance. For a few seconds, both of them were just struck dumb at encountering each other in this way. They froze up and just stared at each other for a few seconds, wide-eyed.

Veronica was not expecting someone to be bold enough to try and sneak into her private chambers on the night of the harvest festival to try and assassinate her, and she definitely wasn't expecting it to have been the duke with whom she had participated in a rather enjoyable dance and chat, but she had faced stranger circumstances, and she recovered from her surprise far more quickly than her 'assailant', and drew her tome in a split second. Green magic began to gather around her, lending the scene an eerie air.

Kiran panicked and threw up both arms in front of himself. "Wait! Don'–aaaaa!" Unfortunately for the Summoner, in his panic to try and stop the princess from frying him with her magic, he lost his balance and fell forwards off the bannister. Into the princess' balcony. As he fell, his hands ended up smacking the book out of Veronica's hands, which the floor with a loud "Thud!"

Incidentally, that tome also saved his face from meeting the same fate, and it instead impacted with the cover of the thick book. While it still hurt, it was no where near as bad as it could have been had his face hit the stone balcony floor instead. Thankfull the basket of food and his gift seemed to be okay. Above him he heard the sound of a dagger being unsheathed and had to roll away and press himself up against the opposite wall with his hands outstretched to ward away a knife strike.

"W-wait! Dontkillmeplease!" he yelled out. The princess' footsteps stopped. A bead of sweat dripped down his back. This was proving to be an ordeal even more frightening than his climb over here.

"Duke Varynys? What is the meaning of this?" she asked frostily. "Did you come here tonight to assassinate me, then? You may have stolen my grimoire but do not think this means that I am defenseless. You will not claim my life without losing yours in return!" she hissed, pointing the blade at him.

"What?" It was then that Kiran realized that he had apparently grabbed the book when he rolled away just a few seconds ago and was now holding it in his hand. "Oh. Sorry. No, you can have this back," he said holding the book out. "Just please don't kill me. At least, not yet. Please. I did not come here to hurt you. Quite the opposite."

"What?" She grabbed the book from his hand, now simply looking more confused than anything else. "A-anyways, you have ten seconds. Explain yourself."

"Lady Veronica…I am afraid have lied to you. I am not who I have claimed to be. I'm not the duke of some far-off province of the Emblian Empire. But I'm also not here to kill you. You were right earlier tonight when you said I was true in my admiration for you. I'm just a simple man who fell in lo–"

Kiran's words were cut off as his mask, which had been cracked by the impact with Princess Veronica's tome, finally gave up the ghost, falling apart into two pieces and falling off his face.

"YOU?!" Veronica cried pointing at him with her dagger, before blushing and covering her mouth. "You?!" she hissed in disbelief. "Ugh, I knew you seemed familiar. I can't believe it was you this whole ti–"

"Your Highness, is everything alright?! We heard a loud noise and you shouting from inside!" came a guard's voice from outside her bed chambers. Kiran felt the blood drain from his face at the possibility of being found by them in this place and looked up at Veronica with panic in his eyes. He started gesticulating wildly without saying a word as he tried to convince her to wave them off. She smirked down at him and Kiran felt dread in the pit of his stomach as she turned her head and opened her mouth–

"We are quite alright! 'Twas but a foolish insect that surprised Us as We were reading. We are fine. As you were," she answered haughtily, mischief sparkling in her eyes.

"Yes, Your Highness!" came the guardsman's answer.

Kiran breathed a sigh of a relief, which only drew the princess' attention back on him. He quailed under her glare. It really was unfair that her irises were so brilliantly red, he thought to himself. She didn't even have to try to be scary.

"I knew you seemed familiar, but I thought it was because your skin was dark like my brother's. Not because you were…well, you.

"Honestly…" she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Of all the most absolute foolhardy things you've ever done…How did you even come up with this idea?"

"I'm a, uh…good actor?" Kiran offered sheepishly. The silver-haired princess just gave him with a flat stare. He didn't really want to implicate Leticia in all of this, so he came up with a better fib. "Well, actually, the Order wanted to know more about the state of the Empire. They wanted to know what the nobles and other rulers of the Empire were like, and how they compared to Askr's. And I volunteered."

"So," she said, after a moment of silence. "How _do_ you find them?"

"Honestly? Kind of the same. Fat, decadent, degenerate lords, being preyed upon by even fatter, more decadent, and more degenerate merchants who've gotten too big for their britches– in more than one way."

Princess Veronica snorted and her lips quirked up into a wry smile. Kiran took a breath of relief. It seemed like she was in a good mood.

"How did you get in here?" she asked him.

"Surely you didn't think you were the only capable of breaking and entering into other people's countries, did you?" Kiran asked with a laugh. Seeing the glare on the princess's face he sighed and made something up. "Our more surreptitiously-inclined heroes may have been responsible for getting me in somehow or another," he fabulated, playing up the Order's own capabilities.

It was a bit of a dangerous game to be boasting of their supposed puissance in front of the enemy chief, but he felt it was probably the best excuse he could come up with while also protecting Leticia, who had been responsible for giving him one of the best nights of his whole life, just within the span of time he had danced and talked with Veronica at her debut ball.

"Why did you even decide to volunteer for this mission? Surely those other heroes could have gone in your stead? Aren't you important to Askr?" she eventually asked him.

"Well, it sure as hell wasn't to talk to those stuck up old bats down there, I can tell you that. Why do you think, Princess? I came here so I could see you." Her cheeks turned pink and she looked away from him, embarrassed.

"I cannot even _fathom_ the depths of your foolishness…You could have died! You could have been killed!"

"I could have," Kiran said seriously, with a nod. "You're right. But honestly? I would do it again. Just to be able to see you. And tonight, I was able to experience a lot more than just that. Princess, this has honestly been one of the best nights of my life. Just being able to speak with you at length was already amazing, but getting to dance with you? In public? I…that was probably the happiest I've ever been since I came to this world, if not in my whole life. She glared at him, but he found that the impact was kind of ruined since her blush also deepened.

"Do you really not care about your own life? Are you that eager to throw it away?! You could have died trying to get into the party! You could have died trying to climb over here! I could have killed you twice over just now!" she hissed.

"Yeah. You could have," he answered simply.

"Then why?!"

"Because I don't believe that you would. Or, at least, that you would want to. But thank you."

"Huh? What for?"

"You sound like you're concerned for me, and that makes me happier than you could know."

"Y-you idiot…" she muttered, turning away from him to hide her reddening cheeks. "H-how do you know that I won't just kill you at any moment?!"

"The same way you can know I won't. I trust you."

"Wh-what are you saying? Why?"

"I trust you."

"That doesn't even make any sense!"

"I still trust you."

"…" The tips of her ears had turned a bright red by now, something Kiran could see even though she was facing away from him.

_'Ah, so cute!'_

"But, no, seriously. I am essentially putting my life in your hands. You really could have killed me many times over tonight. You could have called those guards in and had me arrested or executed. But you didn't…And if I even needed a reason to trust you beyond my heart saying that I could, then I think those should be enough."

Sighing, she sat back down in her chair and patted the free one next to it, motioning for him to sit next to her. "Fine. You still make no sense to me, but whatever. I will let it pass for now.

"What's in the basket?" she asked pointing at the item he had dropped in the confusion earlier.

"Oh no!" Kiran cried as he ran over to check on it. "I brought you some food for us to share! I hope it's still alright…" he muttered, kneeling down to open the basket. Thankfully, it nothing inside had been terribly squished or ruined. All the dishes looked to be unbroken as well. "Oh, thank the gods. It's still okay." He put the tray on the table between the chairs and pulled out two plates, a tray of sandwiches, and a little cake, frosted orange to look like a pumpkin, with two chocolate triangles for 'eyes' and a chocolate crescent for a 'mouth'.

"Goat cheese and fig jam sandwiches? Pumpkin cake? How did you know these were my favourites?" the princess asked suspiciously.

"They are? Oh, thank goodness. I actually snuck in here through the kitchens and there was still quite a lot of food in there that hadn't been brought out, so I decided to borrow a basket so I could carry it all up here," Kiran lied. He picked up a sandwich at random and bit into it. "Oh man, that's really good! I think this might become my own favourite, actually. I can't believe I've never had this combination before. It's so amazing!" He noticed that Veronica was still looking at him and hadn't touched anything. "What's wrong? You don't want any? Oh! I got it! Sorry, I know it's rude of me to begin eating on my own. Here, let me get you a plate," he said, picking up a dish.

"I can get my own food," Veronica said, plucking it from his hands. Kiran just chuckled and let her do it. He noticed her waving her hand over the sandwiches and a wave of soft green light passed over it.

"Ooh, what was that?" Kiran asked.

"I was checking to make sure they weren't poisoned."

"Cool! You can do that?" he asked excitedly.

"Yes. It's a simple trick. Even a child could learn it." She noticed his amazed expression and sighed. "You know… you really should feel offended. Most men would."

"Offended? What for?" Kiran asked, somewhat taken aback.

"That I can't just…trust you the way you trust me," she answered, unable to meet his gaze.

"Oh, that? Those are just my feelings. You don't need to feel any pressure to return them. And besides, while I may have my personal pride, I do realize that we _are_ in a rather strange situation. I understand why you have to do that," he smiled. "And I'm not offended."

Veronica sighed, and just decided to enjoy the meal. She hadn't had anything to eat while she was at the ball earlier, so those sandwiches really hit the spot. The pair ate in silence for a while, just enjoying the night. Kiran was just happy to see her enjoying herself for once, and felt his heart warm at being able to do this for her and see her like this. After they polished off the sandwiches, Kiran cleared the table and pulled out the cake.

At that moment, came the sound of a ringing bell. Princess Veronica shot up in surprise.

"Wait right here and don't let yourself be seen from my room." She went back into her chambers, and a few seconds later, Kiran heard the sound of a heavy door creaking opening.

"Yes, Leticia? What is it? Did you need something from me at this hour? You should take off. Enjoy the harvest festival. I'll give you the feast off." Upon hearing the maid's name being called, Kiran peeked around the balcony's doorframe to see her standing there with a small service cart atop which was a steaming pot and several cups. Leticia caught sight of Kiran hiding behind the doorframe and smiled.

"Ah, thank you for your kindness, Milady. But, I thought we might share some hot chocolate, like we so often do," she said with a wink. "It would help ward you against the coming chill, as well."

Veronica found herself unable to provide a good reason as to why this would be a bad time for their usual custom, as she had already retired to her room for the night, and so, accepted a cup of the thick, hot, chocolatey beverage from her handmaid.

They sat down at a table in the salon of Veronica's apartment, and chatted as they sipped at the hot chocolate. The princess tried to feign her engagement, but her thoughts kept drifting to how bad it would be if the Summoner were to be caught, sitting on her balcony.

Leticia took a sip before suddenly standing up and heading quickly towards said balcony. Veronica, alarmed, stood up and followed right behind her.

"Leticia, wait! What happened? Why are you going to the b-balcony?"

"Ah, apologies milady," she said with a bow. "I just realized I left a book on the table there. I'll just get it really quickly so I don't forget it again," she said, turning back to head out.

"No!" Veronica almost shouted again. "I mean…wait. Yes, it would be no problem for me to get it for you since you brought me this wonderful hot chocolate. I feel warmer already. Allow me to get it for you," she offered nervously.

"Oh no, Milady!" Leticia said with a laugh. "I couldn't possibly allow you to bother yourself over little old me. But that is sweet of you, Your Highness. I appreciate it!" she said, practically skipping over to the balcony. Veronica reached out weakly with one hand to stop her, but she let it fall down as the maid stepped out onto the verandah.

Kiran wasn't sure what Leticia had in mind as she walked through the doorway. She turned towards where he was facing and brought both of her hands to her face in surprise, before giving him a wink and mouthing "Play along," at him silently.

Princess Veronica felt her heart sink as her maid came across the man sitting on her balcony. This would surely lead to a most troublesome scandal if word of this got out to the rest of the court. Oh, she never should have let the Summoner sta–

"Duke Varynys? What are you doing in Her Highness' chambe– are _you_ the Summoner of Askr?!"

"W-Wait!" Kiran cried, acting as though he were genuinely worried. "Th-There's a good reason for this. I can explain!"

The maid stared him down for a few seconds with her hands on her hips, before breaking into a sunny smile. "Well what are you doing out here in the chill? Come in and warm up with a cup of chocolate! Ah! Were you dining with Milady? How sweet! And you even brought a little pumpkin cake– that's her favourite!" she exclaimed, picking up the little plate and ushering the ersatz gentleman inside.

"What." deadpanned Veronica, who was not expecting her handmaid to be this perceptive or welcoming of the foreign Summoner's affections for her.

"What?" muttered Kiran, nearly as surprised as the princess, as he wondered just where she was going with this drama.

He allowed himself to be seated at the table with the princess and her maid and be served a cup of still warm chocolate. But he didn't take a sip. He just looked up at the maid with a confused look on his face, only half acting at this point.

"So, _you_ are the infamous summoner of heroes in the employ of our neighbouring kingdom, hm? And you have the gall to not only impersonate a duke of the Empire but also sneak into Her Highness, the Imperial Princess' private chambers?" she asked mischievously. "How utterly romantic!" she squealed.

"H-huh?" Kiran stuttered. Veronica too looked completely dumbfounded at this never-before-seen side of her chief maid.

"I simply _adore_ stories about love. Especially forbidden romances about two star-crossed lovers from different sides! And Milady has told me so much about you! She _always_ talks about your antics and capers whenever she returns home from a sortie. She never said me just how _handsome_ you are, though," Leticia said with a little laugh that made Kiran's face heat up and turn away from the two women out of embarrassment.

He glanced back at Veronica only to see that she was quite pink herself.

"In any case, why don't we all just enjoy our drinks first? Sir Kiran, you must be cold. Please, drink some of this chocolate. It should warm you right up from the inside."

Grateful for a distraction, Kiran took a sip of the rich, velvety chocolate beverage, enjoying how the thick ribbons of molten cacao slipped down his throat. He could taste a hint of vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg blended into the drink that really did start warming him up as the spices took effect. "Aah," he let out a sigh of relief. He looked up to see Leticia whispering something in her liege's ear which seemed to be making her blush deepen with each passing word.

"Milady…don't…ed him som…ke? I'm su…ke him…ppy!"

"W-wha…n't do…ht!"

"…st wa…ch as I…it!"

Leticia picked up the plate upon which the little pumpkin-shaped cake sat in one hand and a fork, before cutting a little piece of the cake with the utensil and holding it out towards the Summoner.

"Sir Kiran~! Why don't you try some of this–"

"I-I've gotten the idea, I can do it myself!" interjected Princess Veronica as she grabbed the plate and fork, her cheeks now looking for all the world like two roses had bloomed upon them. "H-here. Open your mouth."

Kiran felt his own cheeks bloom with flame as the blood rushing to his face warmed him so much that he couldn't even feel the earlier cold, but he opened his mouth nonetheless.

The princess gently guided the fork with a piece of cake to his mouth and he leaned forward and ate it, before sitting up straight in his chair. It was tasty, but throughout that entire ordeal, he found himself unable to tear his gaze from the princess' eyes, which gleamed like rubies as she fed him, or her pink lips, which shone in the light cast by the fireplace inside her apartment. He swallowed the piece of cake without even realizing, so entranced was he by Veronica's charms. Noticing that he had finished that piece, she brought another piece to his mouth with a shaking hand. Kiran opened his mouth again and ate the piece of cake she proffered. He smiled back at her shyly and she looked away, completely flustered.

"Are you going to just let her feed you?" came a whisper in his ear that froze him in his spot. "I'm sure Milady would like for you to feed her as well."

Kiran felt his heart swell with joy and embarrassment at the thought, but he cleared his throat and addressed her. "P-princess Veronica? If I may?" he asked, gently taking the plate and fork from her hands. She felt her breath hitch as his warm fingers brushed her icy cold hands.

Kiran quickly cut a piece and held it up in front of her lips before she could realize that he was trying to reverse their roles from earlier. The silver-haired maiden's eyes widened and her blush grew even more intense as she understood just what he was trying to do. She shot her maid a look, but Leticia just clenched her hand into a fist and pumped it, mouthing "Go for it!" at her silently.

Veronica took a deep breath to calm herself and parted her lips slightly to allow the cake-bearing fork to enter her mouth. After a few more pieces, she took the desert from Kiran's hands before feeding him again. They repeated this ritual of feeding and being fed in turn throughout the night. At some point, Leticia had slipped out of the room without either of their notice, leaving the pair alone in the salon.

"Th-that was the last of the cake," Veronica whispered, setting the plate down. From somewhere in the palace, the bell of the clocktower struck twelve, thundering peals resounding through the air.

"Y-yes, it was," mumbled Kiran, equally as shyly. "Ah, y-you've got some frosting on your face."

The princess hastily picked up her napkin and wiped her mouth, but the little bit of orange-coloured frosting remained.

"Hold on, let me get that for you." Kiran offered, taking the napkin from her hands. He leaned over her, putting his left hand on her chair to steady himself as he gently wiped away the frosting with the silk cloth. The princess grew even more flustered under his gentle ministrations and felt her heart begin to beat quicker at his closeness. She took a deep breath to calm down, only to inhale instead Kiran's scent– warm, spicy, and masculine– and she felt her face grow even hotter.

"There, all done!" Kiran exclaimed, pulling the napkin away from her face. He noticed Veronica red face and leaned in even closer, till he could feel her sweet breath upon his own face. "Is everything alright, Princess?" Her heart just beat even faster at his increased closeness.

Before she could answer him, however, the door to the salon opened, and they both turned to face Leticia, who stood in the doorway with wide eyes and one hand covering her open mouth. "Oh my! I'm sorry to interrupt you two."

It was then that Kiran realized exactly what sort of a position he was in with Veronica, and how it probably looked to someone else. He felt his face burn, and stumbled back into his own chair like a thief who had been caught red-handed.

"My! I never would have thought you to be such a rogue, Sir Kiran."

He hid his face in both hands, letting out a muffled groan of embarrassment.

Leticia laughed at his state before speaking again. "Alright, alright, I'm done teasing you now. I only came back to say that it's getting rather late. It would probably be best if you and your companions left for now, Sir Kiran."

He looked up and nodded, before throwing on his cloak and leaving the room to gather his belongings from the balcony. He came back inside a few minutes later to see the maid pestering a blushing princess for tales of what had happened after she had left, and decided to spare the poor girl the embarrassment by clearing his throat, which drew their attention. Leticia, I'm ready to leave. How do I get out of here without attracting attention?"

"I think it would be best if we hid you under this serving trolley," she said, lifting up an edge of the white tablecloth that prevented the inner contents of the cart from being visible from the outside. Kiran scrutinized the cart. It certainly looked sturdy enough, seeing as it was made from solid wood reinforced with iron brackets. He'd probably be able to fit, though it would be pretty tight.

"Are you sure you'll be able to push the cart with me inside?"

"Absolutely," Leticia reassured him. "With these wheels it shouldn't be a problem."

He nodded and turned to bid Veronica, who was standing up now, farewell. But she spoke first.

"I…Tonight was…fun," she mumbled. "I had a lot of…fun. Dancing, talking, eating. I-I don't know how to put this…into words. Th-thank you," she whispered, looking down.

Kiran smiled before stepping closer. Before she could realize what was happening, his arms were wrapped around her and his forehead was resting on the top of her head. "It's fine. I understand. I had a lot of fun tonight as well. I'm so glad I came. Veronica, I lo– _like_ you. A lot. I hope one day we might be able to meet without having to resort to costumes and secrecy like this, as entertaining as it might have been." He took a deep breath before whispering in her ear. "I'm going to miss you, and I hope part of you will miss me too, as selfish as that might be. But I also have something for you to remember me by," he said as he stepped back and pulled out the little wooden box from earlier.

He opened up the box and presented it to her. Both Veronica and Leticia gasped what it held. Gingerly, Kiran picked up the little circlet before setting the box down, and with both hands, put it on Veronica's hair. The silver rings of the crown blended in with her hair, while the white elderflowers glowed like so many little starts about her head.

"You look beautiful," Kiran whispered as he gave her one last squeeze before taking both of her hands into his and kissing them on the back. He didn't dare look back as he climbed into the cart until he was settled within, knowing that he would have otherwise been unable to leave. Once inside, he looked up at Veronica, who looked utterly downcast at his leaving. It broke his heart to see such a look on her face– that too because of him. He gave her a sad smile which she eventually returned.

Leticia smiled at seeing her lady manage to work up the courage to see her suitor off with a smile, and let the cloth fall, hiding Kiran from view, and pushed the cart outside. They made it out of the princess' apartment without a problem and soon reached the kitchens after riding in silence for nearly ten minutes. She knocked on the top of the cart and told Kiran it was okay to come out.

He stepped out with his mask covering his face once again. At some point during the ride he had fixed it back onto his face. "Leticia, I can't even begin to thank you for everything you've done for me. For _us_."

The maid laughed it off and gave him a quick hug. "You make my lady happy and that's all the reason I need to help you out. I've seen her grow up before my eyes, and I can't remember the last time she got so excited about something since…well, since her brother left home."

"I swear I will do my best to _keep_ her happy for the rest of her days. But I can't do it without your support," he said, offering her a deep bow. "Thank you so much, Leticia."

The maid felt her eyes mist with tears and she give him another hug, nearly crushing him.

They eventually made their way out back to the rose garden, where his party was still waiting. "Hey guys. Sorry for the delay. Let's get out of here."

"Finally. I'm sure my lieges must be in trouble without my service. Let us make haste."

"A-alright. I was getting w-worried, anyways."

"Sorry, Princess Sakura. We should be good to leave now, I think." He looked around, taking in the sight of the palace for what would probably be the last time in a long time, before something caught his eye. As part of the decorations for the harvest festival, there were several pumpkins in the garden. He walked over and picked up a decently sized one before walking over to his group with the orange gourd cradled in his arms.

"Alright, now we can get out of here."

Leticia led the five of them out to where she had prepared their carriage. They mounted the car, and shot off in the night towards the Askrian border, making it there in about an hour and a half. Once they had reached friendly territory, Nowi transformed back into her manakete form to carry Kiran and Sakura back to the Order's castle. Jakob and Henry would ride just behind them with horses they had left tethered in the woods.

They made it back to the castle around three in the morning. It was late, but the castle was still lit up as it seemed the festivities would be going on late into the early hours of the morning.

As soon as he stepped into the Great Hall, Kiran was beset by Alphonse and Sharena, who each grabbed onto one of his arms and dragged him to their table. Both of their faces were flush and they looked as though they had been reveling for the whole night. Even the usually stoic and reserved Alphonse had loosened up a bit and looked happy to finally see him.

"Kiran!" Sharena cried. "Where were you all this time?! You just missed Hector and Dorcas down a whole tankard of ale!" she whined, pointing at the two axe-wielders from Elibe who were slumped against each other, asleep. Both of them did, in fact, have a very large wooden barrel at their feet.

"Haha, well I was here and there, and I might have lost track of time. Sorry, you two. I'll make it up to you. We can hang out together for the rest of the festival, alright? I promise I'll stay right here."

Sharena stuck out her tongue at him, before bursting into giggles and agreeing to his promise. Alphonse peered curiously at the object clutched in his lap. "Kiran, what is is that?"

"Oh yeah! I can't believe I forgot!" he cried standing up suddenly. "Remember how you guys said you hadn't seen a pumpkin in ages? Well, here you go," he said with a little bow. They looked at the gourd dumbfounded. Then back at him. Then back at the gourd.

"Oooooh…Alphonse! Think of how big a _Geistenward_ we can make from this thing!"

"A _Geistenward_? Think of the pie we can finally make from Mother's cookbook!"

"Oh thank you, Kiran!" Sharena said, throwing her arms around the Summoner. Alphonse clapped him on the back.

"Seriously. I can't even imagine how you could have managed to get your hands on of these."

"I uh," Kiran laughed nervously. "I had a _lot_ of help."

The prince shook his head with a helpless smile. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"

"This is the best harvest festival ever!" the princess cried, before running off to join her other friends among the Order to show them the "rare, and mysterious pumpkin".

Kiran left for his own room not long after. The day had been long and he was exhausted. He took off his clothes and tossed them into a hamper before falling back onto his bed.

That night, as he fell asleep, he dreamt of visions of pretty little princesses with vibrant red eyes that sparkled like rubies, hair that shone like silver, lips as pink as petals of a lotus, and cheeks that blossomed like roses…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I hope y'all enjoyed the sweetness here and the (temporary) new cover picture, drawn by ringozaka_0913 on twitter. As always, please, please, please leave a review after reading this. Thank you! :3
> 
> So! This was kind of a long chapter, eh? This was the most effort I've ever put into a chapter of this story, but I really think it was worth it. I, at least, found it really rewarding to write, finish, and publish. And hope you found it worthwhile too :)
> 
> I really wasn't sure how exactly to go about spinning the story to smuggle Kiran into Embla, but this is what I came up with. I really wanted a way to give Veronica a chance to demonstrate some agency of her own and the chance to show off her confident, imperial, and queenly qualities as someone who belongs to royalty after making her so flustered and reactionary to Kiran's advances in the previous three chapters. So I really wanted to add some depth and reality to her character as an actual person and not just completely flanderize her. I hope that came across in a realistic way. Plus I also wanted to give Kiran the chance to fall in love with her even more at seeing this other non-"moe" side of her that was strong, independent, and sovereign. But I also wanted that "gap-moe" to show the difference between those two sides of her– one strong, confident, and noble in her bearing, knowing what she wants and able to go for it, the other, unused to overt affection and and male attention that isn't from her father or brother or Xander and is decidedly non-brotherly.
> 
> As for Leticia, someone once asked me for a bit more of her and a "candlelight sneaking" of Kiran into meeting with Veronica, so I took that idea and ran with it. I hope you enjoyed seeing her! I guess I might bring her back in future Paralogues if people really liked her.


	5. Paralogue 3: A Gift for Veronica

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, hello everyone! Here's the WWTSLP Christmas special, Paralogue 3: A Gift for Veronica! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to finish it! I'm currently doing my masters abroad, and getting through the bureaucratic process has been very long and arduous, but I finally got my residence permit, which is a huuuge relief! But as a result of trying to do that and school, I haven't had a lot of time to write until recently.
> 
> But when I start writing, I apparently keep writing, because as of now, this chapter has around 17,000 words, which by far outstrips anything I've ever published (thought not written) on here, including even the previous record-holder, the Halloween special chapter, by over 2,000 words O_O
> 
> Now, a couple things before we get to the story:
> 
> You may have noticed the new cover picture, "Veronica Santa Alter". Can you guess who drew it?…
> 
> That's right! It was yours truly! Aside from writing, I have been working on my art as well, but more on that at the end.
> 
> Secondly, sorry. I lied again, haha. The publication of Xenologue 1: The Two Tacticians is being delayed yet again until later this year. Mind you, I do have good reasons for this! Thematically and seasonally-appropriate ones, in fact. If you can guess what they are in a review, I'll give you a shoutout in my next chapter ;) Here's a hint: May 30, 2017.
> 
> Finally, I will be taking a hiatus for the rest of this month to focus on school, because I have a final paper due at the end of January. This first semester will also be coming to an end in February/March, due to which I will need to read and write for finals, meaning I may need to extend the hiatus until March, depending on my workload. I will keep you all updated via my profile. That said, fret not. This simply means that I will not be beginning any new chapters of any of my stories. Chapters or stories that are already in production will continue to be worked.
> 
> Now, with that out of the way, I present to you:

* * *

**" _What's With This Sassy…Lonely Princess?"_**

**Paralogue 3: A Gift for Veronica**

* * *

( _Twelve Months After Kiran's Summoning to Askr_ )

"God Jul, Kiran!" Sharena loudly announced, slamming open the door to Kiran's room. "Get up! It's time for the winter festival. Come on!"

Kiran started awake with a shout and sat up suddenly, but in his surprise, he tumbled off of his bed in a cocoon of sheets and blankets. The impact woke him up fully.

"Agh, ow, dang it, Sharena," he muttered, trying to untangle himself as the princess of Askr laughed heartily at his reaction. Lissa, who had been walking by with her brother, stuck her head in at the sound, and started giggling at Kiran's misfortune. "Why'd you have to wake me up so early? It's only—" he said with a yawn. "It's only 5 in the morning."

"Let me tell you about it...We place presents by the pillows of children while they're sleeping—" Sharena began excitedly.

"Oh wait! It's Christmas time already? I completely forgot!"

"Christmas? Oh is that what people from your world call it? It's so neat that you have a festival around this time of year too! What do you cele–wait! No time for questions right now! We've gotta get going!" she cried, pulling him out of bed.

Kiran, stumbled out of his bed and ran behind the princess.

When they reached the Great Hall, which was unusually empty for once—probably due to how early it was and the fact that the Heroes had a day off—Kiran saw Alfonse reading a book and nursing a cup of steaming hot cocoa in a chair near the fireplace.

"Ah, Kiran! Good morning, and God Jul," he greeted the Summoner with a smile, putting down his book.

"Ah, um. G-good Yule to you too, Alfonse," Kiran replied, trying to speak the foreign words.

"The winter festival is quite fascinating, actually. Its roots lie in ancient beliefs surrounding the winter solstice…As tradition has it, on the night of the solstice, the gods of the underworld take flight and go hunting…Anyone who sees them will be marked as prey and dragged down into to the underworld."

"Alfonse! That's terrifying! I thought this festival was meant to be fun…"

"Now? Certainly it is! But in the past…it was quite different. That's what I was talking about: old traditions."

"Wait a second," Kiran said. "Alfonse, are you talking about…the Wild Hunt? Of Odin?"

"Oh! You know of it then? Well, we call him the Valfather here, but yes."

"Sort of. Your culture, from what I've gleaned of it, reminds me of a certain race from my world. They too used to follow similar traditions and hold similar beliefs to your folk. So what do y'all do for Yule?"

"How fascinating," Alfonso answered somewhat distractedly. "You know, I think it's never really struck me before how little I know about the world you hail from, Kiran."

"You'd know more if you weren't so afraid of getting close to people again, Alfonse." Sharena chided him, sticking her tongue out. "I bet you didn't even know that it's called 'Krismaas' in Kiran's world!" she teased.

Kiran looked at her with an expression of amusement on his face.

Alfonse's cheeks flushed a little. "Yes, well, you may, ahem, have a point," he said. "A-anyways, Kiran. We have an annual tournament which began as a way to encourage training in combat—to stand a chance against the gods."

"The tournament! I almost forgot all about it. I hear that the prize is pretty amazing…" Sharena said, daydreaming.

"Well…yes. It should be something remarkable," said her brother.

"If there's a prize to be won, then there are battles to be fought!" said Anna suddenly, as she entered the hall. "Prepare yourselves! The tournament will be at noon today!"

After an early breakfast, Kiran went back to his room to prepare for the tournament.

"Since it's Christmas, maybe I should get a gift for Veronica?" he wondered aloud as he began packing a bag. "Well, what could I even get her? She is a princess, after all. And it's not like I have all that much to offer anyways," he chuckled ruefully.

A few minutes later, he heard a tapping from outside his bedroom window and looked up to see Feh there, holding an envelope in her beak. He stood up and opened the window, and the owl dropped the post on his desk.

"You've got mail!"

"Oh, thank you Feh," he replied, patting her on the head. He scratched behind her ears and ruffled her feathers as a reward for her hard work.

"Fehhhhh…" she melted from the scratches, turning into a big, feathery puddly and falling asleep. Kiran smiled at the sight and picked up the envelope. Upon the thick, creamy paper, stark black ink formed words that he was always excited to see.

_From: The Rosenmaiden_

_To: The Elderbloom_

He quickly opened up the envelope and flopped back into his bed to read the message. It turned out to be a rather short, but important, missive.

_Dear Elderbloom,_

_I hope this letter finds thee well and in good health. Please do take care in this winter season. The winters in Zenith can be quite bitter around this time of year, especially for one unused to them, such as thineself._

_I wished to inform thee that milady Rose will be present at the Winter Tournament this year as the Emblian dignitary. Every year, even during times of war, Askr and Embla seal a temporary peace and send champions to compete in the tournament for wealth, glory, renown, and the grace of the gods. Mayhap thou wilst find a chance to warm her heart then._

_My Lady's True Servant,_

–  _Rosenmaiden_

Kiran folded the letter back up carefully, before holding it up against his face with both hands and rolling around on his bed in excitement.

"Kiran, are you ready to g—" Alfonse started to ask before seeing him on the bed.

Kiran felt his heart leap out of his chest as Alfonse entered his room and called out to him, and he scrambled up into a seated position. He looked at Alfonse. Alfonse looked back. Kiran felt his face begin to grow hotter with each passing second.

"H-hello, Alfonse," he chuckled weakly. "D-Did you need something from me?"

"I…was just dropping by to ask if you were ready for the tournament," the prince answered awkwardly.

"Oh. Right. The tournament. The Winter Tournament. The one we were supposed to compete in. Right. Erm…" Kiran babbled as he finished packing his bag. His fingers fumbled around and he nearly dropped the bag a couple of times, causing his already hot face to burn even more fiercely.

"I'm ready," he said quietly before flipping his hood up to hide the redness of his cheeks and the tears clinging to the corners of his eyes as he rushed out.

The sound of screaming echoed inside his head.

* * *

A little while later, the Askran royal siblings, the Commander, Kiran, along with their four champions—Robin, Tharja, Lissa, and Chrom—were on their way to the ancient colosseum in which the tournament was held in a horse-drawn carriage.

It was a long journey, and traveling northwards in late December meant that it would only get colder the closer they got to the arena, which was set into the peak of a large mountain called Mt. Urberg. Below the mountain was an area known as the Valley of the Emperors. Both the Askrans and the Emblians held that mountain and vale to be a holy land because of legends that stated that the first emperors of both countries hailed from there, and so, it was considered to be neutral territory, set apart from temporal concerns.

After several hours of the cold and bumpy ride, Kiran felt the air started to grow balmier and shucked of his heavy coat after he actually started to sweat from the warmth. He stuck his head outside the carriage, only to find, much to his surprise, that it had stopped snowing. Before them stretched a wide, rolling expanse of brilliant green grass and a gentle stream that murmured as it flowed between the hills.

"Welcome to the Valley of the Emperors, Kiran," Alfonse said with a smile. "We're going to take a little break here for a while so we can warm up before we climb the mountain. We can afford to rest for a bit, seeing as how there's still a few hours until noon."

The party of eight clambered off of the wooden carriage and started laying out refreshments. They relaxed and recovered from the journey for a while, enjoying the warmth of the sun for what felt like the first time in ages.

Eventually, Commander Anna stood up stretched before telling everyone to pack their things up and get ready to march. After stowing everything away, they left the carriage behind and approached the foot of the mountain. Unfortunately, the rest of the journey would have to be made on foot, but Kiran was relieved to find out that steps had been hewn into the mountain stone, rough though they were. That would hopefully make the climb a bit easier.

Sadly, the weather began to turn bitterly cold the closer they got to the peak of the mountain, and they were forced to once again put on their winter gear as protection against the bone-chilling winds. The occasional flurries of snow blown along by the gusts blustering around the mountaintop hindered their ability to see at all, forcing them to slow their pace even further than usual.

The slowly climbing sun had reached its zenith by the time the arena began to come into view. Kiran took a deep breath, inhaling the crisp mountain air as he watched the light of the sun sparkle on the ice and snow that capped the mountain peaks around them. Far below, the green grass of the valley from which they had come shone like a vibrant emerald.

"Ah, this brings back memories, doesn't it?" Kiran heard Chrom boom from behind.

"It sure does," Robin agreed, rubbing his hands together, as they walked past him. "Doesn't it just remind you of when we had to go to Ferox and fight in the Khans' tournament? The snow, the mountains, the competition—look, Lissa's even shivering the same way," he teased.

"Brrr! I'm f-f-freebing I m-miss F-F-Frebberick's horse…" the princess whined as she marched past Kiran, huddling into herself for warmth.

Behind the three of them, Tharja tottered up the stairs, eyes trained solely on Robin's back. The desert native was unused to this level of cold, and was swaddled in several layers topped by a large woolen coat lined with fir. All in all, Kiran thought, she gave off the appearance of a rather large, black marshmallow—a stark contrast to her usually rather seductive appearance.

Almost as if she had heard the thoughts running through Kiran's head, Tharja stopped a few steps below him with a troubled look on her face.

He noticed her staring at him with an unreadable expression and started to feel a little awkward so he tried to break the silence.

"Uh…" he began dumbly before swallowing. "I-is everything alright, Tharja?"

She continued staring at him silently for a few seconds, leaving Kiran to fidget uncomfortably under her gaze.

"You know how it feels, don't you?"

"Sorry? What do you mean?"

She walked up the stairs and stopped right in front of him.

"You know what it's like. You are in love with someone, aren't you? Someone for whom you'd do anything."

"I—" Kiran was taken aback. "I am," he admitted shyly. "How did you know?"

"I could tell from the aura surrounding you," she answered, before smirking. "You're just like a maiden in love," she chuckled darkly.

Kiran felt his cheeks redden at being caught, and he looked away. "Tharja!"

"Don't get so worked up," she said, smiling. Unfortunately, that smile didn't make Kiran feel any better. "I'll help you out."

"Huh—Er, you will? How?"

"I'll make you a charm to keep them safe like the one I made for Robin…I wish he'd wear it," she sighed…wistfully? Was that a wistful sigh? From Tharja? Kiran subtly cast his eyes upwards to make sure the sky wasn't falling down on them. The sun continued to shine unabated in the clean mountain air.

"R-really?" Kiran asked after an awkward pause. "Ahem, I mean, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you so much, Tharja!"

The Plegian dark mage flushed, and looked down so that her bangs covered her eyes. "You had better be grateful…" she mumbled. "Just bring me something that you want me to apply the charm to and I'll take care of it."

"Kiran! Tharja!" came Sharen's voice from up ahead. "Hurry up! We're almost here!"

Kiran looked back at Tharja who nodded at him, before climbing up the remaining stairs to the peak.

•

As they reached the mountaintop, Kiran felt himself taken aback by the sight in front of him. There, issuing forth from the stone of the mountain from which it was carved, was the ancient arena. But calling it a mere arena did it no justice, Kiran thought, as he stood before it. Rather, it looked to be more like a castle—the remnant of some old and martial kingdom, instead of a mere arena.

As they knocked on the large iron doors of the castle, the party was met by several persons wearing heavy, gray robes that reached to their feet, and were tied around their waists with a cincture made from rope. Their heads were covered with large, peaked hoods that cast shadows over all their faces, preventing them from being seen.

Kiran shivered, though whether it was from the cold or the menacing appearance of these men, he knew not.

"Alfonse," he whispered, tugging the prince's sleeve. "Who are these guys?"

"Ah, Mount Urberg is not merely home to the arena that we use every year, but also a monastery, staffed by these monks who look after the relics of our ancestor—and Emblians'. In fact, they are the ones responsible for the upkeep of the arena, so that we may bring glory and honour to our ancestor's name each year."

The monks silently took their luggage from their weary arms and showed them to their chambers. As soon as the monks were gone, Sharena practically flopped onto a bed nearest to the fireplace and yelled "Mine!"

Alfonse shot her a dirty look and she stuck out her tongue back at him. It seemed like he had wanted the same bed. Kiran chuckled at the sight of the two royals behaving like actual siblings.

"Alfonse," Kiran said, trying to distract him, "so, how often, exactly, has Askr won these yearly contests?" At this question, the prince's face fell.

"We have…lost each and every one for the past five years," Anna interjected, saving Alfonse from the embarrassment of having to answer.

"Five years?" Kiran asked incredulously. "Are the Emblians really that strong?"

"W-well, it would perhaps be more accurate to say that we weren't that strong," said the Commander, ashamedly.

Alfonse spoke up. "Sharena and I were far too young to take part in the contest ourselves, and soldiers who were willing to undertake this challenge were in short supply ever since the Emblians started bringing in Heroes for the first time—there's no restrictions on sending champions to fight, after all. The continued losses didn't help morale, either. With each one, the next year's victory felt further and further out of reach, and our people's and army's spirits fell. That's partly why the Emblians were able to strike so deeply into our borders right before you were summoned here."

"Ah, yikes," Kiran said with a wince, taken aback. "That does sound pretty bad. What do you think our chances might be now?"

"Now that you're here, I doubt we'd have any problems!" Sharena cheered.

"We should be able to even the odds with our own Heroes this time around," Anna grinned.

"And just trust in my tactics, Kiran," Robin spoke up, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'll keep everyone safe in the field."

"Thank you, Robin. I'll be relying on you then."

"The opening ceremony and tournament will be starting in a few hours, once the sun sets," Anna informed them. "You all had better get some rest before it's time to fight. I wonder if the Emblians are here yet."

"Ah, I was planning to go take a walk around here anyways. I can check it out," Kiran said.

"Oh, alright. Just don't take too long and make sure you get some rest."

"Got it," Kiran said, waving as he exited their room.

* * *

Kiran wandered down the hallways of the ancient monastery. The walls, floor, and ceiling of the building were just as dark and roughly-hewn as the outside, with only a few torches to light the way. Eventually, he reached the other side of the building from which they had entered.

"I wonder if the Emblians are here yet?" Kiran wondered.

As he turned the corner, the sight which greeted him there bid him stop in his tracks.

Veronica, wrapped in dark, heavy furs, stood before him, like a little black angel. Her long, silvery hair, cascaded down her back and shoulders like a curtain of sable, and the soft light of the torch that hung on the wall made her entire form glow as though she were not human, but some kind of ethereal existence that did not belong on this plane.

For Kiran, the world ceased to move around him. The softly flickering shadows cast by the torch danced across Veronica's clothes and hair, while the warm light of the fire lit up her face. She gazed into the flames, lost in thought. As he looked closer, Kiran realized that she was not wearing her usual crown. Instead, atop her head sat the silver circlet he had gifted her only a few months ago. A sudden rush of warmth swelled up in his breast and he felt his eyes start to mist up at at the sight.

"Veronica…" he murmured, wiping his eyes as he unwittingly began walking towards her. The sound of footsteps echoing off the stone walls broke her from her reverie and she turned to see who it was, only to be taken aback the sight of him.

"Y-you!" she whispered, eyes wide.

Kiran's face burst into a brilliant smile. "Veronica!" he whispered back excitedly, loud enough for her to hear, before quickly hurrying towards her.

Surprised by his sudden appearance, the princess stumbled over the hem of her dress and fell forwards.

"Veronica!" Kiran cried as he tried to catch her. Unfortunately, her head hit him right in the chest, knocking him backwards against the wall with a solid "thump" that drove the breath out of his lungs.

Kiran winced as he took a breath—that headbutt had hurt something fierce. The sweet scent of of roses wafted up from somewhere, reviving him. Unconsciously, he leaned forwards again breathing in the floral fragrance, when his nose pressed up against something soft and warm. As his sight came back, he flushed after realizing exactly what kind of position they were in.

Veronica was pressed against his body after his arms had wrapped themselves around her waist whilst trying to prevent her from falling. And, Kiran found, that even with all of the layers of heavy wool and fur separating the two of them, he could still feel the soft rise and fall of her lungs as she breathed. She had thrown her hands out to catch herself as she fell, which led to them ending up on either side of Kiran's head, pinning him to the wall. Meanwhile, his face was buried in her hair on the crown of her head, from whence the smell of roses arose. He quickly drew his head back, heat creeping up his neck.

As Veronica opened her ruby-red eyes and confusedly looked up at him, the last conscious thought that passed through Kiran's mind was the feeling that he was falling headfirst into the setting sun as he lost himself in their depths.

•

A warm, spicy musk filled Veronica's senses as she found out that the 'floor' onto which she had fallen was neither as hard or as cold as she expected. Confused, the princess of Embla raised her head, which up until then, had been buried in Kiran's chest.

Her eyes, which were squeezed shut, fluttered open hesitantly, only to see Kiran's face above her, closer than it had ever been before. She felt her heart begin to race as blood flowed towards her cheeks, dusting them a rosy pink. It was only then that she realized why she hadn't fallen on the ground.

Th-this—it—he was so close—too close! Pull away, pull away, pull away!

' _Ah, but he's so warm! It would be a shame to lose that in this winter chill…'_

Th-this does not behoove an Empress of Embla!

' _A princess deserves to have her fun…'_ Her mind yelled at her to get back, but something from even deeper within cajoled her to nestle in even closer to his warmth. As she became conscious of his arms around her waist, a spark of something that was at once both fiery hot and icy cold, though she knew not what to call it, ran up her spine, made her shiver. Unable to deal with this melange of contradictory sensations, her arms slackened, causing her hands to fall onto the Summoner's shoulders.

•

Kiran felt his face grow warmer with each passing second and his mouth began to dry up at this situation. Still, he did not release his hold around her waist.

He felt the need to say something to break the silence again, and opened his mouth. "S-so," he chuckled nervously. "I'm glad you seem this happy to see me. You missed me that much, huh?" Kiran's cheeks were bright red from his own words at this point.

"D-don't get ahead of yourself!" she chastised, though her voice lacked most of its usual haughtiness. "An Imperial Princess does not 'miss' people! N-nor does she get excited at meeting them again after so long. She is a stoic…and dispassionate figure…" she trailed off embarrassedly, biting her lip and looking away.

•

Veronica's world had been so cold for years, and her only means of survival was to erect walls of ice around her heart to steel herself against the bitter blizzards of life. Yet this man had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and managed to melt nearly all of them, armed with nothing save the warmth of the passion that burned in his own heart. He offered her a fire by which she might warm herself—a respite against the chill. And yet, she was still uncertain. The ice gave her form. It gave her shape. And the fear of what might happen should she lose it struck her to her very core.

Her eyes flickered back up towards Kiran's face, hesitantly meeting his gaze. Like the little match-seller girl, she could see his hearth, already lit and blazing, ready to welcome her, should she choose to knock. But her hand trembled in front of the door, unsure if she herself had turned into ice after spending so long a time out in the winter.  _Would it be alright for her to step in out of the cold?_ She feared that upon being thawed out, she might simply turn into nothing more than water and flow away or evaporate into thin air.

•

She peered into his dark eyes which sparkled with visible affection and her cheeks flushed. His eyes reminded her of her brother's—large, dark, framed by long lashes, and shaped like the petals of a lotus. But while Bruno's eyes were most often cold and stony, like walls of flint—or stormy when angry—this man's were…bright and shining, despite their colour. They were so warm. Like the sun in the summer. Their dark brown shade was like the Earth's embrace, abounding in love and there for her to reap freely, should she so choose. Both of their eyes were so alike, and yet, so different…

•

Kiran was completely entranced by the brilliance of her irises, which glowed in the torchlight like two crimson gems, polished to mirror-like perfection. Their carmine lustre beckoned to him like a candle to a moth. Kiran wondered, and not for the first time, whether he should just burn alive in their crystaline flames.

_Red._

Red as the juice of a freshly-squeezed pomegranate, they seemed to him to promise the very secrets of life, love, and death—along with the danger of getting lost within those blood-coloured spheres for eternity. Drunk on the wine chalice of her eyes, Kiran felt, and not for the last time, that he could just drown in their depths…

Time ceased to have meaning for the pair as they gazed at each other for what seemed like aeons. It was as though each had ensorcelled the other by simply looking into their eyes. Slowly, ever so slowly, thought neither of them noticed it, their faces started drifting closer and closer together. With each passing second, the distance between the two of them shortened. Kiran, who held Veronica even more firmly around the waist, could feel her sweet breath brush softly against his lips.

Their faces drew closer and closer together, as though they were in a trance, when…

"My deepest apologies for taking so long! I'm not used to wearing such heavy furs, and it took me longer than I expected to put these on. Are you alright, Mila…dy?" The door suddenly swung open and Leticia walked out, bowing deeply. The maid's voice trailed off as she raised her head and spotted her Princess locked in an embrace with the Askrian Summoner, their slowly reddening faces less than an inch apart.

A light pink dusted her cheeks as her eyes widened. "Oh!"

The two whipped their heads around at the sound just in time to see the look of surprise on the maid's face morph into an incredibly smug, evil grin as she took in the scene before her.

"My, my, Milady. How bold!" she giggled into her hand. "I'm sorry for interrupting you two!"

Kiran and Veronica leapt apart like they were on fire, blushing up a storm. They looked in opposite directions, unable to meet eyes again.

"I-It's not like that!" Veronica said, her face cherry red.

"I know, I know," Leticia said, ignoring her words. "You must have missed Sir Kiran  _so_  much, right?" she asked, sounding almost sympathetic.

"I—no! It's n-not—!" Veronica stuttered, mind completely scrambled.

"And you, Sir Kiran," the maid with a wide grin on her face. "I shall have to ask you not to take advantage of Milady when she is in such a delicate emotional state," she said mischievously. "These men are like wolves, Milady," she said, turning to Veronica.

"Wh-what do you mean?" she asked with wide eyes that flickered back and forth between Kiran and her maid.

"If you give them even an inch, they'll take a mile, you know?" Leticia answered the princess, one finger raised like she was giving a lecture.

"L-Leticia, stop teaching her weird things!" Kiran cried, alarmed, causing the maid to burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said in between laughs as she tried to catch her breath. Wiping away a tear from the corner of her eye. "You two were just too precious."

Kiran gave her with a deadpan look. Unfortunately, the effect was ruined by the fact that he still blushing. Veronica just stared at the floor, cheeks aflame.

"Well, in any case, now that your here, why don't you join us for some tea, Sir Kiran? Or should I call you 'Duke Varynys'?" Leticia asked, smirking.

Veronica's eyes shot back towards her maid, as if to ask what exactly she was playing at, though no words came from her lips. Leticia, for her part, just winked back at her princess to get her to play along. Veronica huffed and looked away, though her eyes drifted back towards Kiran, to see what his reaction would be.

He buried his face in his hands and let out a silent scream of embarrassment, nodding. Leticia gave her princess a genuine smile and opened the door for the two of them. After Kiran entered the salon, Leticia whispered to Veronica as she passed by.

"Milady, would you perhaps like to try making the tea today?"

Veronica looked at her quizzically as if to ask why.

"I brought your favourite blend, Milady. I think you would know best just how you like it. And besides," she added with a sly grin. "Don't you think it would be nice to show him your domestic side…and have him praise you for it?"

"I-I am an Imperial Princess! I don't have a domestic side!…b-but I suppose that it wouldn't hurt to try. V-very well then," she agreed shyly. "I shall prepare the tea."

The two of them stepped into the salon to see Kiran already sitting very ramrod straight on a chair.

"Today's tea will be prepared by Milady as a special treat!" Leticia announced as she entered the room.

"H-huh? Er, I mean, really?" Kiran asked with a nervous smile. He still found it impossible to look directly at Veronica as she entered, so he averted his gaze to the side.

"Yes! Milady is a connoisseur of teas, and she crafts the most wonderful blends." She dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, one that was clearly staged, because even Veronica could hear it. "Just between the two of us, she's rather fond of baking cakes and pastries as well. Those of us who serve her consider it a real honour and a privilege whenever she gifts us a little confection she's made!"

Veronica shot Leticia a look of alarm. Her forays into baking were something she wanted as few people to know about as possible. It didn't really fit into the whole "witch-queen of Embla" aesthetic that she had been trying so hard to cultivate. Leticia just stuck her tongue out playfully and winked back at the princess.

' _This meddlesome maid…'_

Kiran looked up suddenly, attention piqued. "Really? That's so cool!" he said. With a brilliant smile on his face, he added, "I love cooking but I've never really been great at baking, so I'd really love to try something you've baked someday!"

"Is that so?…" Veronica asked quietly.

"For sure!" Kiran grinned.

With a small nod, she turned around to prepare the tea, pouring water into the kettle, hanging it above the fire in the room's hearth to boil, and portioning out the tea leaves. Every motion of hers flowed gracefully from one to the other, like a dance. She lost herself in the process, humming softly as she added the tea to the pot and took it off the flame to let it steep. Kiran looked on, completely enchanted by her movements.

To the side, Leticia sniggered smugly as she observed Kiran's reactions while laying out some cakes and biscuits on a tray.

After pouring the tea into three cups, Veronica picked one up and brought it to Kiran who simply kept looking at her with a dreamy smile.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat with a look of annoyance on her face, holding the cup out in front of Kiran's face.

"Huh?" Kiran answered eloquently. "Oh…is that for me? Thank you, Veronica," he said, reaching for the cup. As he took it from her hands, Kiran's fingers brushed accidentally against hers, sending a spark through her body.

Veronica hid her trembling hands behind her back as she watched Kiran inhale the aroma of the tea before taking a sip. "W-well? How is it?" she asked testily.

Kiran breathed in the scent again with his eyes closed before relaxing in his seat. The smell of bergamot invigorated and relieved him. He looked back up at the princess and smiled. "I love it."

Her cheeks turned pink and she turned around. "I-is that so?" she muttered, as she picked up a cup for both herself and Leticia.

The three of them silently enjoyed the brief reprieve from the bitter chill outside in the warmth of that room with a fire blazing in the hearth and a pot of hot tea.

The monastery's bells rang six times, signaling the hour.

Kiran put down his empty cup and stood up, stretching.

"Well, looks like it's about time for me to be getting back. I think the opening ceremony is set to begin soon, isn't it?"

Veronica started. She had almost forgotten about the tournament. At the reminder, the blood in her veins began to boil once more with the anger of the dragon-god, Embla, aroused by the promise of violence. Her eyes turned hard like ice and she stood up as well, cape swishing imperiously.

"Yes, I think you  _should_  leave now," she said frostily.

Kiran shuddered at the change in personalities. Her face had turned back into the same porcelain mask he first saw that revealed nothing but a deathly rage simmering under her cold, red eyes. He gave her and Leticia a brief bow before hurrying back towards his team's room.

He thought back to what Zacharias…no, Bruno had told them about his family's condition just over three months ago.

* * *

" _In the end, all of Embla's royalty…are devoured by the dark god. We become puppets... I can't fight the blood flowing through my veins…As a prince, I carry the cursed blood of Embla…that Emblian blood pulses within me. Whatever I do, I live knowing one thing: its curse will consume me._

" _I never know when the blood will take me…And when it does…I cannot resist. Not I. Not Veronica. Not our father, the emperor. Not anyone…This dark god…seeks death. And cries out for the destruction of Askr."  
_

* * *

That was the reason Bruno had written that letter from "Zacharias" asking them not to consider Veronica their enemy. He wanted to take on all of their hatred to protect his little sister, and as a fellow elder brother himself, Kiran felt nothing but the utmost respect for that man's love and dedication.

' _That blood of the dragon that runs in her veins…It truly is as frightening as Prince Bruno made it out to be. I can't imagine how she suffers, but just thinking about it tears my heart apart. Oh God…please let me find a way to help her,'_  he prayed as he strode through the monastery.

He opened the door to his group's room, only to see everyone still asleep. A monk appeared beside him, motioning towards the arena that was at the center of the monastery. He nodded and went about waking the others up, who eventually got dressed and armed for the tournament.

Once the Askrian team was ready, the hooded monk beckoned for them to follow. Another monk took the competitors through another entrance, while the first one led Kiran, Anna, and the royal siblings through a passage towards the center of the monastery. He unlocked a large wooden door and let Kiran pass.

On the other side of that door was a large circular ring, filled with packed red earth, behind which was an altar atop which were a pair of large statues—one a black dragon, with golden detailing, and the other a white dragon, decorated similarly. On either sides of the ring were stadium seats that could easily seat around one hundred people.

"Amazing…"

"Ah that's right. This is your first time seeing this place, isn't it, Kiran?" Alfonse asked.

"Yeah…this is pretty incredible, man. I'm honestly really impressed."

The monk who guided them in remained silent, but Kiran got the impression that he was pleased at Kiran's praise for the arena they maintained. He bowed and exited the balcony booth in which he seated them.

As the rest of the monks and some other speculators streamed in and filled the seats of the stadium, the tournament began. The opening ceremony started with an invocation to the First Emperors and a promise to show excellence in battle so that their descendants could bring them glory.

The Askrian observers went deathly silent once the tournament began. Even the usually rambunctious Sharena stayed quiet, sitting on her hands to keep them still.

The competitors soon took the field. To Kiran's shock, the mirror images of the Heroes he had brought with him—though dressed in more…festive looking outfits—stepped out in front of them.

Robin, Tharja, Chrom, and Lissa stood face to face with their counterparts, looking equally as shocked as their summoner. But before they could talk, the bell tolled once and the battle began.

"All of you, get back!" Robin yelled from down below. "They're all wearing heavy armour! Kiran! What should we do?" he shouted, looking up at the summoner.

"Aha! Tharja, take out the other Chrom and Lissa with your magic! Chrom, cover her flank! Robin, take the fight to the other Tharja and Lissa back him up! All of you use your speed to stay out of their range!" Kiran ordered.

* * *

After several long and hard-fought battles, Robin—his Robin—was the last man left standing. All the other competitors lay defeated at his feet, and even he struggled to stay upright.

The bell tolled once more, and a candle was lit in front of the statue of the white dragon, marking Askr's victory for the first time in five years. The spectators clapped at the good showing as cheers erupted from the Askrian box. An ecstatic Sharena embraced the astonished Commander while Alfonse clapped Kiran on the shoulder, a wide grin on his usually sober face.

"Kiran, you've done it!" the prince exclaimed.

The Summoner stood up and threw his arms around Alfonse's shoulders, letting out a cry of victory. The other man was taken aback by the sudden closeness for a moment, before joining him in shouting for joy. Sharena ran over and threw her arms around the two of them, sending all of them tumbling to the ground in a pile of laughter.

•

From across the other side of the stadium, Princess Veronica stared at the Askrian delegation's celebration from her own box. Or, rather, it might be more accurate to say that she observed—with no small amount of longing—just how close they were. As the  _Drakenblut_  in her veins cooled, she wished, and not for the last time, that she weren't so alone in this world. To enjoy victory all by oneself felt hollow enough as it was, but to have to taste the bitter swill of loss with no one there to share that pain with? It was…it was almost to much to bear. Why was it that the Askrians got everything they wanted, she wondered, eyes stinging.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she saw that wretched Askrian princess throwing her arms wantonly around her summoner and the twinge of a heretofore unknown feeling stirred in her breast at seeing them laugh and smile together— _Why did it hurt so much to call him_ "her" _summoner?_

"Get your hands off of him, you harpy," she muttered darkly under her breath as she dropped her head, causing her hair to cast a shadow over her face that obscured her eyes.

"Did you say something, Princess Veronica?" Xander asked, standing at her side. The royal knight had been slightly ill earlier in the day, and had thus been resting when Kiran ran into her.

Veronica started, recoiling at the vitriol in her own words. Why did she feel so strongly about seeing another woman embrace the Summoner? Especially a woman who, by all rights, had far more of a rightful claim to his attention and affections than she herself did. He  _was_  Askr's summoner, after all. That was right. He was their summoner, not hers. He didn't belong to her or Embla.

These bitter rationalizations didn't prevent the stinging pain from growing stronger. She blinked back tears she didn't even know were gathering in her eyes.

"…ronica?…Princess Veronica!" Xander's calls broke Veronica from her cycle of thoughts, and she looked up at him with moist, red eyes.

"I'm alright," she answered him dully. He looked at her with concern on his face, but her attention was already back on the scene in the other box.

Leticia approached Xander and placed her right hand on his shoulder, shaking her head sadly. She dropped her hand and curled her index finger around his pinky. The Nohrian turned his head to look at her, surprised, but she just rested her head against his shoulder tiredly.

"There's not much we can do for her when she's like this," she whispered in his ear as she leaned on his arm.

"Surely there must be something we could do?" the otherworlder asked, taking Leticia's sudden closeness in stride.

"There's only one person here who has even a slight chance of getting through to her," she replied, gazing off into the distance at Kiran as well. Xander looked at her quizzically, but she simply gave him a wan smile before bringing her head to rest on his shoulder again.

•

The Askrians made their way down to the ground level of the arena to receive their prize. Kiran handed out potions and elixirs to the downed warriors and helped them get back to their feet.

Alfonse and Sharena bowed before the shrine to their ancestor and burned some incense in his memory.

Once the siblings were finished with that, the monks brought out the reward for the Askrians' victory. A large chest full of gold, silver, and precious gems was carried by several of their number into the arena. Kiran was awestruck at the treasure chest before him. He had never in his life expected to see something so stereotypically fantasy-like. His eyes turned towards the stands, searching for Veronica. Though she was far away, he got the feeling that something was wrong with her. Suddenly, she turned around and left the arena with Xander and Leticia in tow.

Now Kiran was all but certain that there was something amiss. Veronica didn't strike him as the type to throw a fit like that just because she had lost the tournament.

"Kiran?" said Alfonse, breaking his line of thought.

"Hm? Oh, yes? What is it?"

"I was just wondering if you were alright. You looked rather distracted for a minute there."

"I'm fine! No worries. Just thinking about some stuff."

"What about?"

"Just, uh," he tried to wrack his brain for an answer. "Thinking about how it hasn't even been a year since I got here, but how I've had all these crazy adventures and experiences in that short time."

Alfonse chuckled and was about to answer the summoner when his sister cut him off.

"Kiran, you need to stop thinking so much!" Sharena said. "Come on! We've gotta celebrate our win!"

"What she said," Alfonse added with a smile.

"I hear ya," Kiran chuckled, shaking his head. No one saw his left hand trail behind him and swipe something from the treasure chest as he walked past it. No one saw him drop it into his pocket as he joined the rest of his party.

* * *

The monks served the winners a little feast in the monastery's mess hall. Technically, it was open to both sides, but the Emblians did not attend. Not that Alfonse blamed them. He would have probably done the same if he were in their shoes. In fact, he figured, it was probably even more of a shock to them, considering they had been the undefeated champions of this tournament for the past half decade.

Apparently, the snows had picked up outside, and, according to the monks, would make it impossible for anyone to descend from its peaks until later in the day tomorrow, meaning the Emblians were stuck here with them.

He took another swig of the frosty snow-cooled ale brewed by the mountain monks from his drinking horn as he looked around the room, smiling at the slightly fuzzy sight. They had finally done it! Winning the tournament was just one small step on the road to the much larger goal of restoring the might and glory of Askr, but it was a step nonetheless. It made him happy to see everyone who had taken part in the contest enjoying themselves.

Even Tharja, who usually kept to herself, appeared to be trying to socialize with the others, seemingly inspired by her otherworld copy's bizarre behaviour. She was speaking to Kiran, who had gotten up from their table earlier, saying he would be back after grabbing a drink. The two of them looked to be deep in discussion about some matter. He saw Kiran reach into his pocket and pull something out from it that he cupped in both hands to show to Tharja. Unfortunately, it was too small and far away for Alfonse to make out what Kiran was holding, and why exactly it elicited so much interest from Tharja, who had a dark smile on her face as she said something to the summoner that made his cheeks darken and led him to frantically wave his hands in denial.

•

"…how cute. But yes, I can add the protection charm to this. It looks strong enough to hold my magic."

"I, um, yeah. Th-thanks, Tharja.

•

"Oh, Kiran," the prince chuckled to himself. He'd have to warn him again to not get so close to the Heroes some other time. He supposed it'd be alright to let him have his fun for now, since they  _were_  fresh off the heels of a complete upset and victory over the Emblians for the first time in five years. He just didn't want the other man to get hurt like he had been.

Alfonse noticed Kiran drop an object into Tharja's palm, who promptly closed her fingers over it, though not before the prince saw a flash of gold. The dark mage suddenly left the hall to do Askr-knows-what with nary a glance backwards.

"Wow, Alfonse. when you told me not to get so attached to the Heroes, I didn't know you meant not to get in your way." Kiran suddenly appeared in front of the prince with a fresh mug of ale in his hand as a smug grin snaked across his face. "So, Tharja, huh?

"Wa—What? I don't—I'm not—!" Alfonse sputtered out a protest.

"I saw you looking at her. Never would have guessed that she was your type, though," he teased.

"Alfonse, is that true!?" cried Sharena, who overheard their conversation.

"What? No! O-of course not!" he stuttered, cheeks pink, but this wasn't enough to get Sharena off his back who teased him about his supposed 'crush' on Tharja.

Some time later, Alfonse saw a monk enter the room, followed by a rather pretty-looking older woman dressed in a maid's outfit. Apparently, she was looking for Kiran, and the two of them went off to talk in the corner. Alfonse couldn't make out what she was saying, but judging by her expressions and gestures, she seemed to be rather sad and looked like she was looking for help from their summoner. Then, much to his surprise, he saw the two of them share a quick embrace. H-had Kiran always been this popular?

At that very moment, Tharja entered the hall again, and saw Kiran with this older woman. Alfonse was sure all Hel would break loose, but Tharja simply walked over and handed him something before going back to Robin's side, trying to talk to him.

The prince of Askr was completely dumbstruck. Several questions ran through his mind: What was going on? Wasn't Kiran courting Tharja? Why, then, was she okay with him publicly hugging this other woman. And who even was she, in the first place?

One minute later, Kiran and the older maid left the hall together. This gave Alfonse further shock.

* * *

"Thank you for coming with me, Sir Kiran. And, my apologies for pulling you away from your victory celebration. I just didn't know who else to turn to. Milady shut herself away in her room after the tournament and she won't come out. And, well, we are going to be stuck here until tomorrow due to the snow, so she can't even get away."

He shook his head. "I had the feeling that something was off earlier, but I wasn't able to put my finger on it. And I wouldn't have been able to rest easy knowing that she wasn't feeling well myself."

The pair walked in silence until they reached the side of the monastery where the Emblians were staying. Just before they entered the salon where they had been having tea just a scant few hours earlier, Leticia stopped in front of the door.

"Leticia?"

"Sir Kiran," she said, turning around to face him with the most serious expression he had ever seen on her face. "Before you see the princess, there is something that I think you need to know. This summer, a very dangerous woman suddenly appeared in the middle of the Imperial Palace and somehow managed to work her way into Princess Veronica's closest council."

"What?" Kiran asked, taken aback at this sudden info-drop. "A dangerous woman? Who? And just how was she able to get into the palace?"

"Her name…is Loki."

A jolt of electricity ran down Kiran's spine, leaving him frozen in shock.

' _What? Loki? Surely she isn't referring to_ The _Loki? The trickster? The traitor of the gods? Wait, but Leticia said she was a dangerous_ woman _. This must be a case of them just having the same name, like Owa–Odin does, right?'_

"And as for how she got in," Leticia continued, unaware of the shock Kiran was experiencing, "it appears that she is able to alter her form at will. She managed to enter the Palace wearing the guise of Prince Bruno."

Kiran felt the blood drain from his face as a knot formed in his stomach. A cool sweat run down his back.

"No. No, that's impossible…" he muttered. That all but sealed it.

"Sir Kiran?" Leticia asked confusedly.

"Oh gods, no. That—that can't be." Kiran said, disbelievingly. "S-surely you're mistaken, right, Leticia? Are you sure that's her name?"

"I am certain. I heard it clear as day when she first appeared. Do you know her, Sir Kiran?"

"Not personally, but…I may know of her, and if she is indeed who I think she is, then…that's really, really bad! Oh God—Veronica! Is—Is she alright?" He grabbed Leticia by the shoulders.

"Milady is…I think she is alright for now. She doesn't speak a word of them to me, but Milady has been going on some highly secretive missions for this woman. And I do believe that she has begun to change since she started going on them."

"Changed? How?"

"In some positive ways, admittedly. Milady has become increasingly concerned about her people and what it means to be a good ruler." She paused. "That said, I can't help but worry that woman is encouraging this newfound interest as a means of keeping Milady distracted so her true aims can go undetected."

"That…while I'm happy to hear about her growing as a ruler, that is indeed extremely concerning."

She bowed deeply, tears shimmering in her eyes. "I truly apologize for not having been able to inform you about this earlier. I had no way of knowing when she might be watching or listening in while we were in the Palace, or if she could read my letters. Thankfully, she wasn't able to come here, mentioning something about being 'forbidden by the power of the dragons'."

"I…no. It's not your fault, Leticia." He growled, running a hand through his hair. "I just—I feel so useless. I want to protect her but I can't even do anything for her when I'm so far away. What should I do, Leticia?" he begged her.

"Sir Kiran…" the maid rubbed his back comfortingly. "Your place is in Askr, and nothing we do can alter that wyrd, but there is something you can do here and now. Please try and talk to Milady now and see what it is that ails her. I ask only that you make no mention that I have told you about that woman to Prince Xander or her. She would likely find out that you know about her and that would completely ruin the value of this warning."

"I…I understand," Kiran said with a wan smile. "I'll…I'll do my best." He took a deep breath as he stepped through the door.

•

As he entered the salon, Kiran saw Xander guarding the door to the Princess' room.

"Leticia? Why have you brought the Askrian summoner here?"

"Prince Xander…I think he can help. He's the only one I think we can turn to in this situation."

"What,  _him_? How?"

Leticia appeared to be at a loss for words, unsure of how to answer, so Kiran spoke up.

"Xander, I…care a great deal for Princess Veronica," Kiran said to him. The royal knight's eyebrows rose questioningly as the corners of his mouth twitched downwards. "I want her to be happy. I want to make her happy."

"You…what?"

"I love her, Xander." He walked up to the Nohrian prince and stopped right in front of him. "I have since the day I was first summoned to this world. You should know what I'm talking about. You were there, after all."

"You were serious about that?" he asked incredulously. "I thought it was all part of your stratagems—a ploy on your part to catch us off-guard." He muttered under his breath. "One that worked all too well, I have to admit…"

"What the—Xander! Is that seriously what you think of me?"

"Well, for the longest time, I wasn't certain if you were a tactical genius…or a philandering fool, like someone else I know…"

"Hey, I take exception at being compared to Inigo…even if I did act like him when I first got here…and used to dance…and am just as shy as he actually is on the inside…" Kiran's voice trailed off as he experienced a slight twinge of existential horror.

"Inigo?" Xander asked in confusion, before shaking his head. "Well, that doesn't matter right now. How can I trust you? Not only are you our enemy, but you're the enemy summoner."

"Xander, I might be your foe on the battlefield, but in here, I am your ally. Anyone who wishes Veronica well is someone I would be glad to call a friend. My duties as Askr's summoner do indeed give me cause to oppose you during war, and while I do take those duties very seriously, I see no reason as to why we should be at odds when we aren't fighting. I appreciate very deeply all the work you do to keep her safe, Xander," Kiran said, bowing deeply, which took the prince aback.

"Prince Xander, I'll vouch for him," Leticia said. "I've been keeping in correspondence with him for the better part of a year now, and I've seen nothing but the best of intentions from him. I've also met him in person before, and I do believe he is genuine."

"Be that as it may, I cannot simply let him into this matte—"

"Please, Milord," Leticia whispered, sidling up to the royal knight and linking one her arms with his, as she batted her long lashes at him. "Can't you trust me?"

Xander's cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink and he looked away. Leticia grinned savagely at Kiran, who was awestruck at this maid's attack stats on the battlefield of romance.

As the summoner snuck past them, she flashed him a victory sign.

•

Upon reaching the door to Veronica's room, Kiran took a deep breath and steeled himself, before knocking. Once, twice, thrice he knocked to no response. As he raised his hand to try once more, however, a voice came from within, muffled but still clearly upset.

"I said I wanted to be left alone. I don't want to talk right now."

"Not even with me?" Kiran yelled back through the door. "I brought you somethi—"

The door creaked open and a single, gleaming red eye peered back at him out of the darkness of the room inside. Suddenly a pale and slender arm reached out from the shadows and grabbed him by the collar of his robes, pulling him inside before slamming the door shut.

"…is it really okay to just leave that man alone in the Princess' chambers?" Xander asked after a moment. Though, it wasn't as if he could countermand the Princess' own will.

"I'm sure it will be fine," Leticia answered sunnily. "I think we can trust him. Let's let him get to know what our Princess is really like a little better," she said before she turned around and looked him straight in the eye for several seconds, holding his gaze as she walked closer to him.

"Now then, Prince Xander," she said huskily. "Let's you and I get to know each other better too, hm?" Leticia said, looking at him with half-lidded eyes as she pulled the stunned warrior behind her by his ascot."Why don't you have a seat right here and I'll put some tea on, alright?" She gently pushed the prince down into a chair, letting her long brown tresses trail across his face as she walked past him.

* * *

Kiran nearly lost his balance as he was yanked inside the room, tripping over his own two feet in the process. He stumbled forwards and fell to one knee as the door closed. He heard the rustle of cloth behind him and turned back around, only to see Veronica looming above him, looking sullen in the gloom.

"Why are you here?" she asked perfunctorily.

"Oh! Well, I have something for you," Kiran answered, digging around inside his pocket. "I brought you a gift!"

He pulled a little golden ring, capped with a large ruby, out of his cloak and held it up to her. He heard her gasp at the sight and watched her fingers reach for it, only to stop midway as she suddenly grabbed her own hand by the wrist with the other one and pulled it away.

"I-i-is this…?" Veronica began to stammer incoherently. "You're—th-this…a-are you asking me to…m- _marry_  you?!" she asked incredulously.

"What?" Kiran cried out before realizing how the situation probably looked, with him kneeling on one leg and holding a ring in front of a girl. He jumped up to his feet, embarrassed. "N-no!" He looked down and mumbled quietly to himself. "Not yet, at least…"

Kiran cleared his throat and tried again. "Ahem. L-let me try this over again. I wanted to give you this ring I got from the tournament winnings."

"W-why?" Veronica asked again, trying to recover from her surprise.

"Because this is no longer just an ordinary ring. I had Tharja enchant it so that it would protect the wearer from harm and ward off evil."

Veronica was taken aback. Such charms were extremely rare and hard to come by because of how closely the mages of the empire guarded their secrets. Even for members of the imperial dynasty, such as herself, acquiring an item with that kind of enchantment would be very difficult.

"You would…offer such a thing to me?" she asked, bewildered. "Why not…simply keep it for yourself?"

Kiran chuckled. "Ah well, according to Tharja, this charm of hers is limited in that someone can't just order one of these to be made for themselves. They only work when they are given by the one who ordered to the person they care about the most."

Veronica flushed deeply at the Summoner's casual confession.

As she considered accepting it, the memory of the Askrian princess embracing the man before her at the end of the tournament flashed through her mind, dampening her spirits once again.

She turned away and crossed her arms, so that only her shoulder faced him, and her expression became once again sullen.

Kiran was taken aback at this sudden change in attitude. "…Veronica?" he asked hesitantly.

"You said this only works when given to the person one cares for the most, did you not?"

"Yes?"

"Then surely there are others who you hold more dear to you than myself, are there not?" she asked sharply. "Like the princess of Askr?" Resentment overflowed from her voice as she mentioned that wretched girl.

"What?" Kiran asked, completely bewildered. "Sharena?" What did she have to do with anything?

"I've seen how she throws herself at you. How she hangs all over you. And why shouldn't she? You're  _her_  summoner, after all," Veronica said venomously.

"Well, I a—"

"It's not fair!" the princess shouted, envious and frustrated. "It's not fair, it's not fair!"

"Veronica?" Kiran asked, growing increasing concerned.

"Why is that no matter what I do, I simply keep losing? Why do those two get everything?!" she said bitterly. "All that fertile land, all that wealth and happiness that they never had to work for to provide to their subjects, all those Heroes, friends…" Suddenly, she turned back around to face Kiran, eyes glowing a bright, bloody red, in which tears began to well up like shimmering silver mercury.

"…and a summoner. You," she said bitterly. "Why do they keep tormenting me? I don't have anything—anything that matters!" she snarled, as the tears in her eyes finally broke free.

In that moment, Kiran felt his heart being torn apart. All this pain and sorrow she carried. All this loneliness that no one should have to bear at all, was being borne by her alone.

' _I should know what that's like After all, wasn't also so lonely before I came to this world?'_

Furthermore, he couldn't deny that the cause of this hurt that she now felt was due, at least in part, to him, and a wave of pain and regret swelled up in his breast. Before he knew it, Kiran found himself tightly wrapping his arms around the crying princess. Her tears started to dampen his shirt but he held her against his chest. Soft sobs pierced the air and his heart like innumerable arrows.

"Hey, shh, shh," he whispered in what he hoped was a comforting manner as he gently stroked her hair, letting his warmth envelop her. "It's alright. Everything is alright." After several minutes, her body finally stopped shaking, but he kept his arms around her frame.

"Veronica, I know there's not much I can do about all that…but I'm here with you right now."

Veronica stayed silent, though her breath started to even out.

"Are you alright now?" Kiran asked softly.

He felt Veronica nod her head and released her from his embrace. He took a step back and raised her chin up with his hand, which she let him do without protest.  _'Man, she's become so…docile. She must really be tired.'_  The unshed remnants of tears still sparkled in the corners of her eyes and on her lashes like stars or diamonds, and another pang of guilt shot through him at the sight. Using the corner of his sleeve, he began to gently wipe away her tears from her eyes. He took off his cloak and wrapped it around her form, swaddling her in fabric to help her calm down.

"Let's sit down, alright?" Veronica nodded wordlessly, so he took her by the hand and led her to the wall so they could both sit down on the ground side by side. After some silence, Kiran spoke up again. "Think you can talk about what happened?" he asked gently.

Eventually, Veronica opened up and began to speak in a hoarse voice about what she had seen after the end of the tournament. She told Kiran about how she had seen Sharena embrace him and how lucky the Askrians were to have others there with whom they could celebrate their victory. She told him how she had never had anyone to congratulate her on her victories in the years past despite winning for five years in row. She spoke about how seeing all that had struck her straight to the core, and reminded her of just how alone she really was in this world.

Kiran put his arm around her shoulder and gently rubbed it as she leaned her head on his chest. While she spoke, Veronica listened to the beating of his heart under his breast as it pumped the blood through his veins—a steady, comforting sound.

"Veronica, were you, um?…perhaps feeling jealous of Sharena?" Kiran asked after she had finished talking, biting back a laugh.

Veronica's head shot up to glare at him, but the effect was ruined by the hood on her head which also covered her eyes. "Wh-What? Absolutely not!" she protested, causing Kiran to start chuckling.

"Where did you get that idea from? How preposterous!" She finally noticed Kiran's body shaking as he snickered besides. "S-stop that!" she ordered him, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Unfortunately, this only made things worse for her, as Kiran doubled over with tears streaming from the corners of his eyes as he howled with laughter, making Veronica even more flustered. He was unable to stay upright from laughing so hard that he fell over onto his right side, causing his head to land in Veronica's lap.

"Stop it! S-stop laughing!" she shouted, face again bright red, as she tried to rain down blows on Kiran with the bottoms of her fists, which only sent him into further paroxysms of laughter with each blow.

"S-Stop that, ahahaha!" Kiran said, trying to defend himself as he wheezed. "T-that tickles!"

"It's not supposed to tickle, it's supposed to hurt!" Veronica cried, peppering him with even more strikes which he tried to block until she eventually ran out of energy, dropping her fists with an exhausted sigh.

Kiran breathed in deeply several times, sides still sore from laughing so hard, and looked up at Veronica's face, still shrouded by the cloak's hood.

"Wh-what is it?" she asked testily.

"…Nothing," Kiran said with a soft smile. "I'm just thinking of how lucky I am."

"Lucky?" Veronica asked curiously.

"Very. I would never have imagined being able to spend time like this with such an adorable princess."

"I'm not…adorable," she muttered quietly, heat rising in her cheeks.

Kiran pretended not to hear her. "But that's not all. I never knew she would be so strong and smart too! I am indeed so very lucky to have you in my life." He rolled over and grabbed one of her hands in his. "I just wish I could convince of you that," he said, wrapping his hot fingers around her cooler ones.

Veronica looked away, starting to feel bewildered, yet she left her hands in his.

"Alfonse and Sharena are my friends, and while I am now and always will be loyal to them, I don't lo—the way I feel about them isn't the same way I feel about you."

Veronica remained silent for a while. "…I—I don't know. I don't know how to believe you. I don't know anything about any of these things—friendship or l-love." She sighed.

Kiran smiled again. "That's fine. I've told you before—these are my own, selfish feelings. I'm already overjoyed at the fact that you're thinking about them. Thank you."

Veronica sighed. "And I believe I've told  _you_  this before, but I cannot for the life of me understand why it doesn't offend you that I can't trust you the way you trust me. I don't know if I'll  _ever_  understand you," she huffed, causing Kiran to chuckle at her exasperation.

"It's alright. I'll be here until you can. Whether it's with me, or…" he smiled bitterly. "Or someone else."

"S-someone else?" she asked, completely taken aback.

"Well, uh…I honestly thought you and Xander were into each other for a little while. That's why I was always a bit on edge about him."

This time, it was Veronica's turn to laugh. "M-me and Xander? How strange an idea!"

Kiran pouted. "Stranger than you thinking Sharena and I had a thing going on?"

"Much!" she confirmed, before a thought came to her. "Were you…jealous of Xander?" she asked in disbelief.

"N-no!" Kiran said, trying to avoid her gaze.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…yes," he muttered weakly.

"Heehee!" she giggled musically, elated at having been able to turn the tables on the Summoner, and poked him in the cheek.

Eventually, he started laughing at the absurdity of the whole situation alongside her.

' _You know, you're so beautiful when you're smiling and laughing like this, Veronica. I don't ever want to see you cry again, if I can help it. Bruno…I will do whatever I can for your sister and you.'_

The two of them talked long into the night at length about various topics and swapped stories. Veronica was particularly interested in hearing more about Kiran's world, while he was keen on learning more about the one he had ended up in. He told her about the various countries and cultures of his world, both the ones he had seen in person and those he had read about, while she recounted whatever still-extant fragments of stories of the first emperors there were. The pair spent a few hours in this way, talking, but perhaps more importantly, reveling in each other's company.

They eventually lapsed into a comfortable silence, both simply enjoying the rare chance to be so close to another person. After such a tumultuous, and emotionally-draining day, wrapped up in the summoner's warm and heavy cloak in that dark room, Veronica struggled to stay awake. Her eyelids felt as though they weighed too much to keep open, and so she closed them, but the combination of warmth and darkness soon proved to be too much to resist and after a few yawns, the princess began to nod off with Kiran's head still laying in her lap.

"Vero—" he started to call her name once he noticed that she had fallen asleep before hesitated. "No, I should let her sleep. She's had a long day." Kiran sat back up and stretched. "And I probably need to get back as well."

Kiran got up and looked for the bed so he could tuck her in before leaving. He pulled pulled back the sheets and fluffed up the pillow, getting it ready for Veronica. Then he walked back over to the sleeping princess and gently scooped her up, slipping one arm under hers and around her back and the other under her knees, being careful not to wake her. As Kiran picked her up, Veronica shifted in his arms and draped both of hers around his neck, holding on to him unconsciously.

Once he reached the bed, Kiran tried laying her down on the mattress, but her arms wouldn't let go of him. Instead she nuzzled in closer to his chest, where the beat of his heart, pulsed a constant, steady rhythm that she, in her sleep, found comforting. Wanting to not wake her, Kiran knelt down at her side and waited for her arms to naturally loosen, before slipping out from underneath them. Veronica began to frown at the loss of warmth, but Kiran quickly pulled the sheets back over her body, tucking her comfortably in, and she once again began to relax.

Kneeling at her bedside, Kiran clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.

"She's so precious…and I would give anything to keep her safe if I could. So please, gods, give me strength. My God, I beg you—keep her safe." He prayed. "And please,  _please_  let me find a way to free her from this Loki's clutches, whoever she may be," he whispered through gritted teeth, bowing his head in despair. A few moments later, he sighed let his arms fall by his sides before opening his eyes as he got up.

As Kiran arose from his kneeling position, Veronica's peacefully sleeping face, on which the midnight moonlight shone, icy-white, filled his sight, healing some of the unease he had been feeling all night. His lips quirked into a smile as leaned over and brushed some of the hair out of her face before lightly kissing her on the forehead.

Before he left, Kiran stopped in front of the door before turning his head back around to look at Veronica one last time. This was what he would fight for. She was truly the person for whose sake he was brought to this world—he was sure of it.

He opened the door and stepped back out into the salon…

* * *

Kiran rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times, taken aback by how bright it was out here, compared to the darkness inside the room he had just been in. As his sight came back, Kiran saw Leticia sitting in a chair across from Xander, conversing with the prince. Curiously enough, Kiran noticed that her hair was a bit disheveled and her dress slightly rumpled. She smoothed them out with her hands as she stood up. For a split second, the maid gave him a strange look, before greeting him a radiant smile on her face, which had the slightest flush of pink on her cheeks. He decided that it was probably irrelevant and promptly put it out of mind.

"Sir Kiran," she curtsied. "Did everything go well? How is Milady?"

"As well as I could have hoped. We spent the night talking about a lot of things before she fell asleep. I think she's had a rather trying—and  _tiring_ —day. I tucked her into bed before I left, so you should probably just let her rest. I think she'll be alright come morning, but if not, we should still be here until noon," he offered.

"Oh, you tucked her in? How sweet! Pray tell just how you went about that?" Leticia asked teasingly.

"I-I didn't do anything weird if that's what you're asking! I just…picked her up and carried her to her bed. Th-that's all," he said. His ears started to get hot as he recalled kissing her on the forehead before leaving.

She smirked and stepped into the room to check on the princess. Xander got up from his chair and took up his spot by the door again, waiting for the maid to return. Leticia came back with a genuine smile on her face, and patted Kiran on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Sir Kiran. Milady does indeed look to be at peace now. Whatever you talked about, it seems you helped put her at ease. Thank you."

Xander spoke up as well. "It seems I may have been mistaken about you, Summoner. While I still have my misgivings about you, I can't deny that you have been able to do what we couldn't, and so, for that, I thank you." The royal knight bowed slightly, surprising Kiran.

"I meant everything I said, Xander, and I'll prove it to you in the due course of time. But thank you too," he answered, bowing as well. "In any case, it's getting rather late, and I should probably get back to my room and go to sleep," he said with a yawn.

"Good night, sir," said Leticia. Kiran smiled and gave her a brief hug.

"Good night, Leticia. And as always, thank you for everything."

The Summoner left the salon with a wave goodbye to Xander and Leticia and passed out in his bed upon reaching the still empty room.

* * *

( _The Next Morning_ )

Veronica awoke feeling very warm and comfortable. For some reason, she smelled spices—a warm and relaxing scent. She lazily rolled over onto her back, and closed her eyes, but the warm sunlight streaming in through her windows alit on her face, keeping her from sinking back into a deep sleep. As she yawned and rubbed her eyes, the Emblian princess wondered whether the events of last night were simply a dream. She stumbled out of bed and put on her slippers before drawing the curtains fully back to let in more light. She squeezed her eyes shut at the sudden change in brightness. As her eyes began to adjust to the light, she breathed out a sigh of amazement at the sight of the freshly snow-capped peaks sparkling beautifully in the morning sunlight.

A basin of water had been placed on her dresser. She dipped a towel into the cold water and began to wash her face, finally waking up. She picked up her hairbrush from the dresser to begin the daily ritual of trying to tame her long, silver tresses, and walked over to the full length mirror before stopping dead in her tracks.

Staring back at Veronica was her reflection, looking almost the same as she always did, save for one aspect. Atop her usual clothing, she was wearing the Summoner's gold-and-white cloak, which fell to her shins, swaddling her in its warmth. As she gasped in surprise, the fragrance she had smelled earlier wafted up from its fabric, wrapping her in its scent. The brush fell out of her hand and on the floor with a clatter as she continued to stare at her mirror-image, blood creeping up her neck and cheeks, staining them a pretty pink.

It was in that moment that the door to her room opened, revealing Leticia, carrying a tray of food.

"Milady, I've brought your breakfast! Are you awa—ah. There you are, Milady. Good morning," she said with a smile, setting down the tray and curtseying. "Oh my," she grinned, finally seeing the princess' appearance. "What a lovely cloak. Now I wonder where you could have gotten that?" the maid asked facetiously.

Veronica didn't buy it, instead shooting her an incredulous look, which, in conjunction with her blush, only amused Leticia even more.

"I-I'm sure you know where it's from," the princess said, turning away and crossing her arms.

"That's true, that's true. I'm sorry for teasing you, Milady," the maid giggled.  _'But you just make it too easy'_ she thought. "Sir Kiran gave it to you yesterday, didn't he? It has been rather cold up here, what with the snowstorm and all. How thoughtful of him!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. She picked up the hairbrush. "Would you let me brush your hair for you, Milady?"

Veronica "hmph'd", still embarrassed, but sat down on a stool in front of the mirror. Leticia hummed happily as she brushed her princess' hair, taking especial care of the the long tresses on the back of her head.

"Oh!" Leticia squealed when she was finished, and threw her arms around the princess from behind as she rested her head on Veronica's left shoulder. "Milady, you are simply too cute!" she exclaimed, nuzzling her cheek against Veronica's.

"I am an Imperial Princess of Embla. I am  _not_  cute!" the princess protested. "And let go of me!" She squirmed in Leticia's hold, who let go of her, pouting.

"Aww," the maid whined playfully. "It just isn't fair that Sir Kiran is the only one who gets to cuddle with you like this, Milady."

"W-we do not cuddle!" she cried, face completely red.

"That's not what he said last night, heehee…" Leticia giggled mischievously, winking.

Veronica whipped her head around, eyes wide with shock. "Wh-what? What did he tell you?" she cried, trying to grab the maid, but Leticia danced out of reach.

"Leticia! What did he say?" Veronica chased her maid around the room, trying to catch her and force her to give up her secrets.

"He said you fell asleep while talking to him," she laughed, dodging Veronica's hands, "and he carried you to bed before tucking you in, just like a princess!" she squealed.

Veronica collapsed forward onto her bed and buried her burning face into both of her hands.

Leticia followed suit a few seconds later, breathing hard.

After catching her breath, Letcia slid off the bed and bowed, kneeling. "Milady, how do you feel about Sir Kiran? Was it alright that I asked for his help yesterday? Because, please understand, I simply want you to be happy.

Veronica hesitated for a second before reaching out and patting her handmaiden on the head.

"I don't…dislike it," she muttered shyly. "And…I might not say this enough, but thank you for looking after me. E-even if the two of you are rather rude at times."

Leticia chuckled as she looked down, pleased to hear that she was succeeding in making her lady happy, when she noticed something sparkling under the bed.

She reached under the bed frame and grabbed the object, only to find an ancient golden ring, inset with a finely-cut ruby that shone like a drop of blood.

"Milady, did you drop this ring? I found it under the bed just now."

Veronica lifted up her head to look at what Leticia was talking about, only to gasp in surprise at the sight. The redness on her face intensified twofold, like a newly-blossoming rose, causing the maid to look back at her with curiosity gleaming in her brown eyes.

"Ooh, it certainly  _looks_  like you recognize it. Where did it come fro—ah!" she exclaimed, making the connection. "Did Sir Kiran bring it to you?"

Veronica flushed and looked away before burying her face into the bed.

"…yes," she said, muffled.

Leticia squealed with joy. "Oh, Milady, that's wonderful! Did you accept?"

"Accept…what?"

"Why, his proposal of course!"

Veronica shot up straight, blushing brightly. "Wh-what? What do you mean proposal?" she squeaked.

"There usually is only one reason a man offers a woman a ring," Letica answered matter-of-factly.

"I-it's not like that! He just…had one of his Heroes place a charm on it to ward off evil."

Leticia's mouth curved into a round shape, all too aware of just how expensive and difficult such charms were to come by.

"But…Milady, such charms are exceptionally rare, not to mention the price."

"That's what I said as well…he told me there was a limitation on it, however." Leticia's right eyebrow quirked upwards. "It has effect only if given by the creator or commissioner to a person for whom they care." Understanding dawned on her maid's face. "Normally, that would make such a charm almost worthless, but I think…" Veronica trailed off, uncertain of how to finish.

"That makes it all the more precious?" Leticia asked kindly.

The princess nodded shyly. "…b-because…it's only for me."

"Isn't that nice, Milady?" her maid asked.

"Yes…" Veronica whispered, the ghost of a smile gracing her lips.

* * *

After a long night's rest, Kiran woke up to find that his room was still empty. It looked as though no one had returned from the party last night, so he got dressed and left for the mess hall to see if they were still there.

As he walked through the open doors of the hall, he spotted several novice monks and acolytes cleaning up the mess left over from the celebrations. They were picking up trash and wiping down tables around the fallen forms of his comrades, who were passed out asleep in various positions. Anna sat between Alfonse and Sharena at a table, her arms thrown around both siblings' shoulders, while Robin was passed out against a pillar as Tharja clung to one of his legs. Lissa was sleeping on his other shoulder. But Chrom really took the cake, Kiran snorted. The Ylissean prince was passed out with his head resting on Robin's stomach, while one leg was on Tharja's back. In that moment, Kiran was grateful for the fact that he wasn't in Chrom's position.

Kiran started feeling embarrassed at his companions' state and bowed in apology to the monks before trying to go wake them up. He eventually managed to rouse most of them, though Lissa refused to budge, forcing Chrom to pick her up and carry her on his back.

Several hours later, everyone was eating lunch together in the now clean mess hall. They had all packed and were ready to leave as soon as the snow let up. Kiran finished his bowl of the hot, mountain vegetable soup the monks had prepared for them and stood up, asking to be excused from the table so he could take one last walk around the monastery before they left.

Naturally, he found his feet leading him towards the Emblian side, hoping to catch Princess Veronica one last time before he left, so that he might bid her farewell.

Xander, who was standing guard outside of the door to her chambers, spotted him and waved him over. "Kiran," he nodded.

"Prince Xander," Kiran said. "I was hoping to see the princess before I left. Would it be possible for me to meet her?"

The Nohrian remained silent for a moment, scrutinizing him, before bowing to him again, deeper than he had before. "Yes. But, before I let you in, I think I should first thank you—and apologize."

Kiran was once again taken by surprise. "You wish to apologize? For what?"

"For my suspicions towards you, which have been proven wrong. The princess woke up this morning and left her chambers of her own volition. Her mood has improved considerably, and I can't help but acknowledge your part in it."

"I…well, thank you. First of all, that's certainly a relief. But I don't think you need to apologize to me for that. You were in the right, and if I were in your place, I would have done the same."

Xander's face cracked a small smile. It didn't stay that way for long.

"Oh, by the way, what did you and Leticia do last night while we were talking?"

Xander's face once again became stony, as the slightest tinge of pink dusted his cheeks, though Kiran couldn't see it.

He coughed to clear his throat. "Ahem, nothing in particular. We simply spent our time talking, much like you and the princess."

"I see…Well, thanks. She's in there?"

"Yes," Xander said, and opened the door.

* * *

Kiran stepped inside to see Veronica and Leticia having coffee. The two ladies looked up as he entered and Leticia smiled at him. As he turned to greet Veronica, the sight before him stole the words from his mouth. The princess still had his cloak wrapped around her, it's white and gold fabric glowing. The late morning sunlight streaming in from the salon's windows shone like an angelic halo behind her thick, silver locks.

It had been far too dark last night to make out her appearance, but now, in the light of day, he could see her clearly. And it would be the gravest of lies if he said that seeing her like this didn't cause his heart to skip a beat. Just when he thought she couldn't get any more adorable, the sight of her dressed in  _his_  cloak proved him so irrevocably wrong. An intense urge to pick her up in his arms and spin her around seized his heart, and it was only with greatest of efforts that he was able to hold it back.

"…ir Kiran, your mouth is open," Leticia gently chided, hiding a smile behind her hand,

The summoner felt heat creep up his neck and quickly snapped his lower jaw shut. "I, uh…" he uttered, unable to find words.

Veronica began to feel embarrassed by Kiran's reaction to seeing her dressed like that, and she hid the lower half of her face behind the cloak's baggy sleeves, which were so long that that extended past her fingertips, flopping over when she lifted her hands up. Unfortunately for her, this only had the effect of further overwhelming the summoner with her cuteness.

He swallowed to clear his throat and tried to speak again as he tried to look somewhere other than right at Veronica. "Ahem. G-good morning Princess Veronica, Leticia."

"Good morning, Sir Kiran!" Leticia said airily with a curtsey.

"…gg…ng," Veronica muttered, still covering her mouth and cheeks which were a bright red.

Kiran took a deep breath. "I see you're still wearing my cloak, Princess. Did you like it that much?" he asked, hoping that his voice didn't crack mid-sentence as a result of his nervousness.

"No!…I mean—it was just…I simply woke up with it on and forgot to remove it! H-here, you can have it back," she said, trying to cover up her embarrassment by taking off the large white cloak.

"No, no, it's quite alright. In fact, I'd like you to keep it. I…I think you look quite n-nice in it."

"Oh," Veronica said, dropping her head to hide the colour gathered on her cheeks.

"You know, Sir Kiran," interjected Leticia with an impish smile, "Milady showed me something else of interest that you gifted her earlier this morning."

"Something else of inte—ah! The ring? Oh dear, I can't believe I forgot about that. So you do still have it?" he asked. At Leticia's nod, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods…Where is it?"

Veronica shakily rolled up the right sleeve of the cloak to reveal the ring sparkling prettily around her pointer finger. Kiran looked up at her in surprise, before breaking into an earnest smile. "Oh thank God, I'm so glad you liked it!"

Veronica's cheeks flushed and she looked away, unable to look directly at his face. "Y-yes," she said hesitantly, trying her hardest to speak how she truly felt. She took a deep breath as well. "I do like it. T-thank you for the gift. I…" she struggled to find the right word. "I am…happy."

Leticia smiled at her mistress, proud of her progress, while Kiran felt his heart beat faster at Veronica's sincere thanks.

Just then, the monastery's bells rang twelve times, signaling the beginning of midday.

Kiran's expression fell slightly with the reminder of the time. He glanced out through the window, confirming the monks' prediction—the snow had indeed stopped falling, which meant that he and Veronica would soon be going their separate ways.

"Hey…I actually came here to tell you guys that I was gonna be leaving soon. We've pretty much finished packing, and everyone's probably meeting up back in our room. I just wanted to say goodbye before I left." He smiled at the two women sadly. "I really enjoyed spending time with you yesterday, and I wish we didn't have to separate again so soon. Is…Is it really impossible for this war to end? For us to not have to hide our friendship under the cover of night? For us to be able to enjoy each other's company during the day—out in the open?" His voice started wavering as he began to get emotional about his impending departure.

Noticing the troubled looks on Veronica and Leticia's faces, Kiran shook his head. "No…I'm sorry. I shouldn't say goodbye like this. I know we all have our own duties." He tried to put a smile on his face, but it was clearly forced. Veronica felt a sharp pain in her heart, and Leticia looked away sadly.

"I…I'll see you both again, I hope," he said, and without waiting for a response, turned around and headed for the door.

As Veronica watched the Summoner—the first person, besides her now absent brother, who had  _willingly_  sought her out and devoted so much of his time and attention to her for nothing in return—all without her needing to resort to a single contract—walk away so disheartened, a strange new feeling began to bubble up in the pit of her stomach. A feeling she did not like. It was oily, churning, and nauseating, all at once, and felt as though it was rising up into her throat, only to remain stuck there.

A voice yelled at her to do something to set things right before he reached that door and stepped through it, otherwise she might never see him again.

But, why did that matter?

 _Because, h_ —that wasn't important! She needed to know how to fix this situation now. Asking other questions could come later.

She wracked her brain for an answer, trying to find the solution to their problem, when a sour memory bubbled up again, causing her to frown. The image of the Askrian princess throwing her arms around the Summoner after their victory in the Winter Tournament flashed through her mind, reminding her once more of how happy he looked with her arms around him.

A light dusting of pink stained Veronica's cheeks as she realized just what that memory was calling for her to do.

But…embracing the Summoner? Should she… _could_  she do such a thing?

_And why not? Did not that bratty princess do it herself in full view of the public? Here, it is but the three of us._

But why should she?

_Because he—I…Because he called me his friend!_

By the time she came to her senses, the Summoner—no, Kiran was almost at the door. She ran towards him, throwing her arms forwards…

"Kiran!"

•

Kiran trudged silently towards the door, shoulders slumped in resignation. His legs felt like heavy weights underneath, threatening with each step to drag him down through the floor.

He cursed himself under his breath, regretting having ever brought that matter up. This wasn't how he had foreseen his goodbye going. Not at all. Leaving like this left a sour taste in his mouth, but he felt too awkward to turn back around and try to make amends again.

He sighed deeply and reached for the door when he felt something pull on his shirt from behind, stopping him from opening it. When he turned around to see what had happened, Kiran's breath hitched in his throat.

"Kiran!"

Veronica stood behind him, clutching the hem of his tunic. She looked up at him with glistening eyes that pierced his heart. At hearing his name being uttered so earnestly by those soft, pink lips that shone like the petals of a rose upon which the morning dew had gathered, a spark shot up Kiran's spine and caused the hairs on his arms and neck to stand on end and ground him in place, rendering him unable to move.

"…did you mean it?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Huh?" Kiran answered eloquently.

"When you said we were your…friends, did you mean it?" She peered into the shadowy depths of his eyes, trying to discern his true feelings, but he looked away shamefully, unable to meet her gaze.

"…I did."

"Then…don't…" she whispered to him shakily.

"Veronica?" Kiran raised his eyes to meet hers, confused.

"…Don't go." She looked even deeper into his eyes as her grip on the hem of his shirt strengthened. "Please!" she suddenly blurted out. "I—You…spending time with you makes me…" Veronica struggled to put these new and unfamiliar feelings into words. "I—I want to be your f-friend as well!"

The dam Kiran had erected in his heart all but shattered from the impact of Veronica's words, which hit like a rock fired from a trebuchet. Hardly had she finished speaking when he turned around and swept her up in his arms, whirling her around.

He took her by surprise, causing her to yelp, until she eventually broke into a fit of giggles and wrapped her arms around his neck as the two of them spun round and round, laughing all the while…

•

A few minutes later, the two of them were doubled over, trying to catch their breaths as they smiled at each other and chuckled.

Leticia looked on from afar at the two's interactions and surreptitiously dabbed at her misty eyes with the corner of her sleeve. She had not seen her lady laugh so freely and heartily in a long, long time—not since she was first brought into the Imperial household as a slip of a girl to serve as the young princess' personal handmaiden. She felt her heart warm as she saw her ward enjoy herself like a girl her age should, and gave thanks to the gods for this blessing that she so dearly needed.

The bell tolled once, signaling the passage of a quarter hour.

"Haah…I should…I should probably get going," Kiran said, breathing heavily, as he stood up straight. This time, however, the smile he wore on his face was unclouded and shone as brilliantly as the midday sun.

Veronica felt her cheeks warm as the corners of her lips tugged upwards into a small smile at the sight, and a burst of pride, joy, and relief filled her heart. She was able to cheer up her first…friend. Surely that was a matter worth being elated over, she told herself.

"Kiran…I don't want you to go," she said shyly.

He grasped her hands with his, marveling at the difference. Cold and hot. Soft and calloused. Pale and dark. Kiran smiled and squeezed her hands gently. "Want to hear a secret? Neither do I."

The princess laughed softly at the summoner's words.

The princess smiled. "Then…until we meet again?" she asked, trying out the unfamiliar words for the first time.

Kiran answered her with another smile. He wrapped his arms around her one last time, whispering "Until we meet again," before turning around and leaving the salon. If he stayed there even a minute longer, his heart promised him, it would have been impossible for anyone to convince him to leave her side after all that had happened.

* * *

Kiran hurried back to his group's room to see that all of his comrades had finished packing and were waiting for him.

"Kiran!" Sharena called, waving to him. "We're ready to leave! I've got your things right here!"

As he got closer, she saw his face. "Wow, you sure look happy. Something good happen?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, nothing in particular! I just took a nice walk and talked with a couple of new friends."

"New friends? You got the monks here to talk to you?" the princess gasped. "How? You have to tell me your secrets on the way back!"

"We'll see," Kiran chuckled.

The company of eight left from the monastery and made their way back home to Askr laughing all the way.

* * *

_**Epilogue** _

Veronica returned to her home in the Imperial Palace of Embla, carrying with her wonderful memories of the time she had spent with Kiran. Getting away from the machinations of both Imperial politics and Loki had a markedly positive effect on the princess' wellbeing. Furthermore, spending time on the mountain that was said to be the cradle of the first emperor helped to suppress the worst of the dragonblood's temper.

Unfortunately, the curse of Embla was not so easily beaten. It had an insidious capacity, not only to twist its bearers' moods to suit its needs, or exhort them to violence against anything related to its mortal foe, Askr, but also to warp their very thoughts and memories, such that thinking on anything or anyone that once gave them joy or pleasure, instead filled them with a deep and irrevocable sense of emptiness. This would eventually lead one who bore the Drakenblut to develop a deep and abiding hatred for said person or thing, because the very thought of them would bring with it immense pain. Ultimately, this would culminate in an all-consuming urge to destroy the hated object so it could torment them no longer with its continued existence. It would only be, however, once a bearer of Embla's blood had finally severed the object's connection to this plane that a modicum of lucidity would return to their consciousness, wracking them with a grief and regret at their own actions that served only to further strengthen the curse's grasp on them.

Princess Veronica stood outside the Imperial Palace of Embla, staring at the massive edifice disinterestedly. Behind her were her loyal handmaiden, Leticia, and knight, Prince Xander of Nohr. The two of them looked at each other with concern. Ever since Kiran had left, the princess' mood, which had been so unusually free and unfettered, began to deteriorate over the two days' time it took for them to return home. By now, it felt as though they had hardly even left, so much had she regressed to behaving like she used to before the tournament.

Leticia carried the cloak Kiran left behind, along with the circlet he had gifted the princess in October—both of which the princess had torn off herself and strewn on the ground last night—hidden inside her suitcase, having secretly retrieved them once the her Lady had fallen asleep.

The heavy iron front gates of the Imperial Palace creaked open ominously, revealing a pair of glowing amethyst eyes waiting for them in the shade of the palace entrance. The figure languidly walked forward, revealing those eyes to belong to a woman who looked to be around Leticia's age, with long reddish hair capped by a gold and purple bicorn hat, and a dangerously voluptuous figure, wrapped in an extremely revealing purple dress that barely covered her modesty. She stalked forwards to meet the princess with a predatory smile, the sound of her boots clacking against the marble floor somehow louder than the groan of the opening doors.

"Why hello, dear. Welcome home. Did you have a nice vacation?" Her voice was husky and mellifluous—and as dangerous as a tar pit. Each inflection seemed perfectly calculated and modulated to induce a sensation of simultaneous arousal and revulsion.

"Yes." The princess answered laconically.

"My, isn't that just wonderful? And I've been  _so_  bored waiting here at home for you all this time. But now that you're back, I have a little game we can play, dear!" Saying thus, the woman put a hand on Veronica's shoulder and led her further into the palace's depths, leaving the princess' two retainers standing there all alone.

As Leticia watched her charge disappear into the shadows, she saw the jewel on the ring the Summoner had gifted her Lady gleam a brilliant crimson for a mere instant, before it too was swallowed up by the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Well, this chapter got a bit heavy, didn't it? I definitely wrote in a lot more dramatic and some slightly tragic moments, mixed in with the sweetness that I know you all enjoy and keep coming back here for. It was honestly quite hard to keep track of when all the different plot points in the game were published chronologically, but I think I have the full measure of them, at least up to the beginning of Book II of the game's story. I wanted this chapter to also be a bit more realistic in some regards, while also maintaining the "cracky" romance you read this for, so I hope I got a good balance of that here. In the future, I will probably go back to writing ~2,000 word chapters for the regular chapters of the book, should I decide to cover them, but since these paralogues and special events are really an opportunity to explore and expand, I think they will continue to be rather extensive.
> 
> Regarding the WWTSLP?'s Chronology: There is one thing I am changing regarding the chronology of events between this story and the game's story. In the game, Chapter 1 of Book II, "The Flame" was released on November 28, 2017. Part 5 of this chapter, "Enchantress of the Mist", marks the Order of Heroes' first encounter with Loki, the mysterious and seductive tactician who serves King Surtr of Múspell! Naturally, November 28 is almost a full month before Christmas, so I will be adjusting the chronology of my story to have the events of Book II begin in January of the second year that Kiran was summoned to Zenith—not towards the end of his first one.
> 
> Regarding the Cover Image (on FFN): This is a picture of our favourite Emblian princess dressed as Santa Alter from Fate/Grand Order. 2018 was the year I first started playing FEH, as well as FGO, just a few months ago, and both of these games have really grown on me, and I really appreciate them both. This is probably the first major digital work I've ever completed, and I really learnt a lot through the process of painting this, both about myself and about the tools and workspace I use, from habits, effective time management, dedication, layers, brushes, and critique. I had a lot of fun painting several parts of this picture, particularly the fur and the snowdrifts, and feel like I gained quite a bit of experience from completing this work. I've also been watching and listening to a lot of videos by other artists on YouTube who have served as a source of great inspiration for me.
> 
> I realize that I still have a long ways to go and a lot more to learn, so I'm already planning to revisit this concept of Christmas Veronica for next year, this time in an original outfit, so I look forward to being able to compare my (hopefully!) growth between this winter and next. Apart from that, I've still got the Legendary Tiki painting to finish, as well as a whole slew of other ideas that I may or may not get to, depending on how much free time I have between college and writing.
> 
> But I'm also trying to take art commissions and have a open under this same name that I use here. I will soon be adding a $1 monthly fanfiction supporter benefit tier to my for any of you who would like to support me. I will thank anyone who chooses to support me in the AN at the beginning in all of my stories going forwards, so if you have a dollar to spare each month, or even just this month, please think about helping me out! I would really appreciate it! ^_^ You can find me on Patreon as Kalacakra108. I also have a Twitter with the same username, if you want to follow me on there. Just reach out, I'd love to hear from you!
> 
> Lastly, thank you to everyone who reads my stories. I really appreciate you giving me the your time and attention. I really wouldn't be here without all of you, because I often go back and read the reviews people leave me while I'm in the midst of writing a chapter, especially an extra long chapter like this one, as motivation. I find it really helps, because I'm ultimately crafting a product that I want to leave you feeling satisfied. So if you want to help me keep doing this, in the purest of ways, please leave a review at the end of your experience telling me what you thought! I'd really appreciate it!
> 
> P.S. We have a FE writers Discord server. PM me if you want an invite!


	6. Paralogue 1.5: From the Bottom of my Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Welp, I wasn't exactly planning on writing this because I was gonna draw a Valentines Veronica, but I came down with a rather nasty cold, so I could barely lift a pen, much less find the energy to deal with anatomy and proportion and whatnot, but I was getting slightly bored so I decided to write a (very) short chapter for Valentines' Day for you guys and also myself, so I could have some cute fluff to help me go to sleep easier (and heal my single heart lol). One point to note—this takes place in the February of Kiran's first year in Zenith. Now with that said, enjoy!

* * *

  **" _What's With This Sassy…Lonely Princess?"_**

**Paralogue 1.5: From the Bottom of my Heart**

* * *

( _One Month After Kiran's Summoning to Askr_ )

Early one morning in mid February, the Imperial Princess of Embla found herself eating breakfast, alone as usual.

'At least sun is finally beginning to shine again.'

As Veronica ate, her steward read aloud her correspondence, rifling through the stack of mail for the day.

"Some new marriage proposals, Your Highness," he said drily.

The princess stilled as a heavy weight settled upon her. She pushed her plate away as her stomach began to churn. This was the fifth time this year already. She would be coming upon her age of majority in several months and the pressure for her to get married was beginning to mount. Messages and solicitations from several would-be suitors had started streaming in at the beginning of the year, like ravenous wolves, circling around her, eager for fresh meat. So far, she had turned them all down. Almost all of them were after nothing more than the wealth of Imperial coffers, the lands they could gain, and the title of Prince-Consort, which would eventually lead to them becoming Emperor of all Embla.  _Almost_  all of them.

"This time from the High Earl of Province Geatland."

"Lord Asgar?" she asked, lip curling distastefully as though she had just swallowed something bitter. "He's nearly seventy years old," she spat. "Disgusting."

"Sixty-three, my Lady, but right you are."

"Next."

"This one is from Lord Ulfram of the County of Ulfjord—"

"That ridiculous ponce? He has more hair gel than brains in his head. Next."

"Very well, my Lady—"

The two were interrupted by a large bouquet of vibrant red roses woven into a wreath resembling a heart being carted into the Great Hall of the Imperial Palace by the castle serfs. Her steward picked up a card that was attached to the flower arrangement and quirked an eyebrow. "Sender unknown," he said, looking at her for permission to read the letter aloud. She sighed before waving her hand to let him begin.

He cleared his throat before opening the letter and continuing.

"Ahem.  _Addressed_ : to her Imperial Majesty, the August and most Noble Heiress of the Empire of Embla, Princess Veronica. "My Dearest Princess Veronica, I write to bid you a good day and hope you are keeping in good health. I have prayed for your weal and well-being every day since we met. I hope that you have found friends with whom you may share your heart.

Speaking of the heart, though this may be somewhat presumptuous of me, I have hoped that I might share mine with you. In the world I come from, on the fourteenth day of this month, people take part in a festival celebrating the feelings of the heart. It is customary for people to send gifts of sweets and flowers to those for whom they care as a sign of their affections. As such, I wanted to share with you somethings that I enjoy as a sign of my fee—"

"Th-th-that's enough!" Veronica interrupted, standing up suddenly. She held out one hand, cheeks faintly blushing . "Give that to me!" Her steward bowed before handing her the letter which she ripped from his hands before reading it silently to herself.

_As such, I wanted to share with you somethings that I enjoy as a sign of my feelings, and I hope that you like them as well. I picked these roses and wove them together for you myself and I bought you these chocolates from town with my stipend from the Order. They are dark and white chocolate truffles with cherry filling, and I really love them. I hope you find them to your liking._

Veronica looked back to the cart to find a shiny red paper box wrapped with a white lace ribbon. She motioned for a serf to bring it to her, and unwrapped the ribbon, revealing the shiny chocolates within, neatly arrayed in alternating rows of dark and white. The bittersweet scent of cocoa wafted up through the air, making her mouth water. As she reached for one of them, an alarmed voice broke her from her trance.

"Milady, wait!"

The princess turned her head to the side and quirked an eyebrow. "Leticia…what is it?"

"We don't yet know if those chocolates are safe! They could be poisoned," the maid cautioned, eyes wide.

Veronica mumbled quietly. "I don't…think that is likely here."

"Why, Milady?"

Veronica's cheeks turned pink. "B-because of who sent them."

It was Leticia's turn to be taken aback, uncertain as to who it was that had been able to gain her mistress' trust so. "Who sent them, Milady?" she asked curiously.

"Th-that's not important!" Veronica waved her hand, wreathed in white magic, over the box. "I-it looks fine."

"Still, Milady…" the maid asked worriedly, wringing her hands. "Please ask a healer to check as well."

"Do you not trust my capacity?" the princess asked quietly. Everyone in the room froze at her tome.

Suddenly, Leticia dropped to one knee, a look of anguish on her face. "Please Milady! I say this only for your sake. I don't want to lose you."

The princess was taken aback. It was not often that anyone ever spoke such words to her. "Oh…very well, then." She called for a cleric, who nervously approached her princess. Tremblingly, the woman waved her staff over the box of sweets. Her magic also stayed white, ascertaining that there was no poison in them.

"There, you see? Satisfied?"

"Y-yes, Milady! Of course! I apologize for my audacity!"

Taking the chocolates from the cleric, Veronica turned to leave the hall. As she walked past the kneeling maid, Veronica reached out with one hand and softly patted her head. "I appreciate the concern." The serfs all let out a sigh of relief as their princess departed, all but certain that she had been angry.

•

After leaving the Great Hall, Veronica looked around to make sure no one was watching before running towards her rooms, chocolates clutched to her chest. She sped down the hallway and threw open the door of her apartments before rushing to her bed and jumping onto before popping one of the white chocolates into her mouth. She let the smooth, creamy sweetness of the chocolate envelop her mouth before the tart and sweet cherry filling burst forth from the center and refreshed her tastebuds. Slowly, she once again unfolded the letter and began to read.

_Ever since I came to this world, I have had many new experiences, many of them wonderful beyond my ability to express them in words. My only regret, if I might be so ungrateful as to call it that, is simply that I have been unable to share them with you in person. Though we ought to be the worst of foes, I simply cannot bring myself to hate you._

Veronica felt her heart skip a beat as a bittersweet feeling overtook her. She ate a piece of the dark chocolate, flushing as it's deep, sophisticated taste covered up the brightness of the previous treat.

_Since the first time I saw you, I felt something stir deep within my heart at the sight, and since then, the more I see you, the more I think about you, and the more I learn about you, the stronger these feelings grow. And, well, even if I can't be there with you on this day of days, I hope that these feelings of mine will reach you still._

_From the Bottom of my Heart,_

_-Kiran_

After finishing the letter, the princess folded it back up and fell backwards onto her bed, clutching the paper to her heart. And, as she fell back into a light sleep, Veronica dared to dream that perhaps, somewhere out there, there was someone to whom she might truly matter.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: As I always, I really appreciate reviews. That's probably the single biggest motivation for me right now, so if you're feeling up to it, please leave one for this chapter. It would really make my day! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed up to now!


	9. Chapter 3: “Mine heart was not yielded,/But conquered merely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you all for reading my story thus far. It really means a lot to me that you all are sticking with me. And thank you all for the kind words and reviews you have left.
> 
> Good news—there was a new alt of Veronica released in FEH recently for Spring 2019 of her in a bunny suit, and guess what: I got her to +1 with a boon in Speed! Aaaaaaaa I’m so happy!!! I love her so much! She’s so cute and adorable and even says “uwu” when she attacks! If you play FEH and have orbs, I highly recommend getting her. She’s a pretty strong green tome flyer and is still on-banner for a few more days.
> 
> I pulled my first Velouria (a pity breaker), followed by my first Veronica, then a Bruno, and then a second Veronica with a Spd boon in just over 250 orbs! I’m so happy and I wuv her!
> 
> I haven’t yet quite figured out how to implement Brave or Spring Veronica. I’m still thinking about what, if anything, I want to do with them.
> 
> With that said, let us continue with the story!

* * *

"What's With This Sassy…Lonely Princess?"

Chapter 3: “Mine heart was not yielded,/But conquered merely.”

* * *

( _In the first month of Kiran’s summoning to Askr_ )

Kiran found himself staring down the tip of a familiar greatsword which glowed with a contemptuous crimson light pointed right at his face.

“So…Xander,” the Summoner sneered, twisting his face. “We meet again. How lovely.” The dryness in his voice belied any actual joy at seeing the royal knight again, astride his pitch-black charger.

The Crown Prince of Nohr scoffed, turning his lip up at the other man. “So, you have come to battle us? This will be the second time you face my blade, you womanizing fool.”

A voice from the distance cried out—“Hey! I resemble that remark!”— but neither of the two men paid it any mind.

“You ought to know well enough that you stand no chance against us,” Kiran spat angrily. Even the mere presence of the blonde prince seemed to cause him intense irritation, and his barbs didn’t help either—he was a rather shy individual by nature, and it took everything he had just to talk to Veronica the way he did. “Stand down now or prepare to be defeated once again, Xander.”

The royal horseman scowled at him. “We are all bound by a contract with Princess Veronica. And yet I am also bound in another way—by the deep loneliness I see in her eyes.”

“You…” Kiran growled as a hot flash of jealousy seared through him.

“She reminds me of one of my siblings,” Xander continued, not hearing him, “who was once held captive in a joyless fortress. Perhaps you can understand why I could never oppose her. Or perhaps you cannot. Either way, it's time that my family and I put an end to you. Camilla, Leo, and Elise—we battle now!”

At his words, a voluptuous female wyvern-knight with lavender-coloured hair wielding an axe shot into the air on her mount, followed below by two young blondes—one boy and one girl—on horses like their brother.

“Yeah, well screw you too, my dude,” Kiran muttered, as he gave the order for his own forces to attack. “That sibling of yours is on my side. But you don’t even care. You filthy hypocrite.”

Tiki surged into the air from behind him, already in her dragon form, going for the throat of the enemy wyvern, its rider’s axeblows glancing off her thick draconic hide. Lucina’s spear thrust forth towards Xander, driving him back, as Lyn’s arrows flew through the air, too fast for him to deflect. They landed a few good hits on him until the blonde boy’s spellbook mired her and her mare in place, slowing their advance to a crawl. Ninian danced behind her to help her move again, out of range of the enemy.

The girl with the large blonde twintails healed Xander with her staff, sending him back towards them, blade pulsing a hateful red as it swung through the air before being blocked by Lucina, who was nonetheless pushed backwards by the added momentum of the horse he rode. Xander turned and brought his steed back around for another attack, but this time the once and future princess was prepared. Standing her ground, she waited for the last second before dodging the Nohrian prince’s charge and piercing his side with the blade of her lance, causing him to disengage.

“Good work, Lucina!” Kiran yelled. “Give it to him!” he grinned savagely. From up above, Tiki let up in her chase just long enough for the wyvern knight to quickly retreat, both mount and mistress singed and bleeding. As he surveyed the field of battle, Kiran realized that his own troops were just barely better off and held up his hand to stop their advance.

“You have more talent than I thought,” Xander groaned, clutching his side as his youngest sister frantically wove his flesh back together with her healing magic. “But now my family and I know what you can do.You will never survive the battles next to come—each of us, with our loyal retainers at our side!” At this, the four royals split up and retreated in different directions.

“Damnit!” Kiran swore to himself as his Heroes gathered around him. “We’ve gotta keep them from linking back up with reinforcements. The five of them chased into the woods behind the fleeing royals, attempting to crush their opposition and free them from their contracts, though for Kiran, this whole ordeal had become somewhat personal as soon as he saw Xander on the enemy side. Inside of Kiran, a dark little voice whispered poisonous words enticing him to destroy the prince that dared to stand where he so wished he himself could.

Unfortunately for Kiran, the Crown Prince of Nohr was the last of the four royals they found. He and his Heroes had to fight through his three other siblings, freeing them from their contracts, to get to this point, leaving them more than a little tired, and Kiran was regretting not having a healer he could rely upon.

This, however, had given Xander enough time to link back up with his retainers—a lithe swordsman wielding a gleaming Silver blade wearing a doubloon and a female lancer atop a horse, hair a strange dual tone of pink and blue—as well as a small detachment of Nohrian soldiers.

“How intriguing. You managed to battle your way to me,” remarked the crown prince. “Princess Veronica said that the Order of Heroes had the advantage of a legendary summoner. Clearly, that is true. Still, we'll put a stop to you now. Laslow? Peri? Let's show them that we will not fall to their force.”

With a wicked and bloodthirsty cry, the female retainer…Peri charged forward, heedless of any potential threats, lance gleaming bright with magic. Unfortunately, she managed to catch Kiran and the heroes off-guard, enabling her to catch Tiki with a powerful blow just as she finished transforming. Peri rode off and circled back around, followed by Xander and an axe-wielding horseman, but this time, Kiran’s team was ready. Lucina pulled Tiki back from Peri’s lance before knocking her off her steed as Lyn pinned her to the ground with her arrows. She then let loose towards Xander, who barely managed to block the arrows in time with Siegfried as he approached. The crown prince and the axe-wielder both converged on the transformed manakete at the same time, but with her training in the Vantage skill, she was able to obliterate them both with a powerfully-charged burst of draconic flames, sending both riders to the ground with a thud, armour smoking.

Five sets of eyes swiveled to look at the last Nohrian fighter, the aforementioned Laslow, who wore a panicked expression on his face as sweat ran down his back at seeing his liege and comrades get so easily demolished.

“There’s no chance we could resolve this peacefully, now is there?” he asked nervously.

Without a single word, they walked towards the paralyzed swordsman. As they got closer, however, Kiran, Lucina, and Tiki noticed something off about this swordsman. Despite the thick, bulky arming doublet he wore, his frame was clearly slim and agile, albeit still muscular, much more akin to that of a dancer than a mercenary or soldier. As they got close enough to see his face, however, the three of them stopped in their tracks, wide-eyed, mirroring his own expression. “What is it, Kiran?” Lyn asked, arrow trained on the solitary fighter should he choose to attack.

“Is that…” Kiran began.

“It couldn’t be…” Tiki murmured.

“…Inigo?” Lucina asked hesitantly.

“L-Lucina? Miss Tiki?” the swordsman asked incredulously. “Also, wow, aren’t you both a sight for sore eyes,” he added with a saucy wink.

“Wh-what are you doing here, Inigo?” Lucina asked with a deadpan, already over her one-time comrade’s quirks despite not having seen him in so long.

“Your parents have been most worried about you,” chided Tiki.

“Mom and Pops…how are they?” he asked, genuine concern breaking across his face.

“They are doing fine. The two of them are actually back in Askr right now. But you still haven’t answered my question, Inigo,” Lucina said sternly.

“Askr, huh? That’s the place where Prince Xander was, right? And, well. It’s a long story. One I’m not at full liberty to tell. But I’m guessing you saw Owain and Sevvy, right? To cut things short, we wound up in Nohr—yes that Nohr! Who knew it was real!— and found ourselves becoming the retainers to Prince Xander and his family. And I go by Laslow here.”

“You all looked like you were having so much fun. Like you’ve been a part of this world since forever. Haven’t you even thought about us once?” the princess of Ylisse asked sadly.

“We have! That’s all we can talk about when we’re alone. I’ve missed everyone. Mom, Pops…and especially you, Luci,” Laslow answered, his old tone leaking back into his words. “Mm…You’re looking quite good in that armour. You’ve really grown up since I’ve been gone, eh?” he asked the increasingly reddening princess, wiggling his eyebrows salaciously as he stared at her chest. “Or is that just the armou—oof!”

Lucina swung her lance up, catching Laslow in the side of the head with the butt of it and knocking him out. Her four teammates turned to look at her with surprise, causing her already red face began to colour even further, until it resembled a ripe tomato.

“It’s alright dear,” Tiki said soothingly as she patted her friend on the head. “You’re still beautiful regardless of what these silly boys say.”

“That’s right Lucina. Don’t let it get you down,” Kiran added, patting her on the shoulder.

“Let what get me down!?” Lucina cried, tears in the corners of her eyes.

“Th-that’s right, Princess Lucina. S-size doesn’t matter all that much,” stuttered Ninian, face equally as red.

“And anyways,” Lyn began, “it’s not like having big breasts helps all that much on the battlefield. In fact, I sometimes think how much easier it would be to draw Mulagir if mine were—”

Any other words that might have been said were cut off by an embarrassed wail from Lucina as she buried her face in her hands, face red all the way to the tips of her ears.

Deciding they had teased Lucina enough, Kiran clapped his hands and cleared his throat. “Ahem. Good job today, ladies. Another world saved. I think it’s time we head back.”

The clanking of metal from behind them alerted the group almost immediately, and they formed a circle around the Summoner, arms at the ready. They saw Xander slowly begin to stand up again, leaning on his blade for support.

“Y-you fought well,” he coughed. Groaning, Xander held his side as he stood up again. “I admit defeat. This means that the contract that binds us is now broken.” He whistled for his horse, which came back soon. “Those of my world are no longer compelled to fight you—or to invade the Askran Kingdom.” The Crown Prince of Nohr mounted his steed, still bleeding from his wound on the side and hunched over in pain. He took a raspy breath to fill his lungs before sitting up straight once again. “But I choose to stay at the side of Princess Veronica,” he said, staring Kiran dead in the eye. “Next time we meet, I will defeat you.” The injured prince rode off into the distance, leaving behind the slowly awakening forms of his solders and servants.

Kiran spat on the ground in the direction of the retreating prince as Anna, along with Alfonse and Sharena, joined the rest of them after defeating the Nohrian regulars.

“How can a Hero like Xander choose to stay loyal to Veronica and the Emblian Empire?” asked the Commander, a confused grimace on her face.

“I can think of more than a few reasons,” Kiran answered sourly. Xander’s parting words still stoked the flames of his jealousy, and though he did not begrudge the Askrians for summoning him and even agreed with the righteousness of their aim of protecting their homeland, a small part of him wished that he had instead been called upon by the Empire of Embla and its princess. Oh, how he longed to be the one at Veronica’s side, sharing in her joys and sorrows. That prince already had a family and a kingdom of his own that loved and adored him. What reason could he have to abdicate all that love and responsibility for the sake of a foreign princess that had, in the beginning, pressed him into her service through force? Only one real possibility came to the Summoner’s mind, and it only caused his mood to darken further.

Alfonse looked strangely at him for a second before closing his eyes, a troubled expression on his face. “There are Heroes who help the people of our world by their own free will,” he said, before looking cooly at Kiran. “There is something about you that wins over Heroes very quickly, Kiran. But it's highly unusual and happens only rarely.”

“Two of my best friends are Heroes! That's why they stay with us. I only wish I had more friends like them.” the sunny princess said.

The two royal siblings then broke into what seemed like a fairly regular point of argument between the two of them until Commander Anna shut it down before it could get out of hand.

“Let's speak of it no more. We should make our way back to the castle. Surely there's another mission that we need to prepare for.”

After helping the now free Nohrian royals to recover from the battle, all the members of the Order made their way towards the doorway between worlds that would take them back to the Kingdom of Askr, hearts joyous at their success. All of them, that is, save one. Kiran was left to ruminate on his distance that lay between him and the princess of Embla, both in terms of the land that separated them but also how far away her heart still lay from his. He trudged back sullenly with turmoil in his breast, though upon his face, he wore a placid smile so as to not bother his comrades.

•

( _In the Imperial Palace, Embla_ )

Princess Veronica sat on her balcony, watching the setting sun as it cast the sky a deep, bloody red. Languidly, she sipped a cup of tea as her handmaid, Leticia, stood behind her.

She had sent Xander off several hours ago to defend the Heroes of his world that she had placed under her contract from the Askrians. Though she had faith in his martial prowess, the last few battles had shown her that the Askrians—or rather, their damnable Order of Heroes under that incomprehensible summoner’s command—were now a force to be reckoned with, and that she should no longer hope for so easy a conquest as she had once believed.

The silver-haired princess smirked as she took another sip. As infuriating as it was to be defeated, she had to give that summoner credit for at least making things interesting for her. She supposed that it really would be too dull if she were able to take Askr from the Askrians with nary even a fight. Of course, the thought that she might fail never even entered Veronica’s head. In her mind, Embla’s ultimate victory and domination over all of Zenith was both justified and inevitable. It was simply a matter of when and how it would happen. Conquest was a delicious dish regardless of how it was served. That the summoner just added some bitterness and spice made it more fun to eat. She supposed that after her forces had conquered the Kingdom and deposed its royal family from their throne, she could reward him for making things interesting with his own life. She mused over the idea of keeping him alive in the palace—not as a prisoner, but a pet. After all, Veronica justified to herself, it would be a waste to just be rid of someone from a whole other world without at least hearing from him the tales and history of that place. I-it’s not like she thought he was handsome and bit charming or anything.

Her cheeks turned a light pink as she tried to push thoughts of the enemy’s summoner out of her mind. Off in the distance, she spied a little black speck rushing towards the palace at a breakneck speed. As it drew closer, the blur resolved itself into a black-armoured man with blonde hair atop a midnight-black charger.

“Xander!” she exclaimed, setting down her cup. Surely he must be here to give her the news of he crushed the Askrian dogs! But…something was wrong. Why was he clutching his side like that? And why did he look like he was about to fall of his—

“Xander!” she cried, watching as he toppled off the stallion upon coming to a halt outside the palace gates. The groomsmen below quickly picked him up and carried him into the palace. Not long after, however, worried cries rang out from the hallway outside the princess’ salon as the door flew open, revealing the Crown Prince of Nohr, face pale and bleeding from his side.

“Princess,” he grunted, bowing stiffly.

“Xander, you’re—what happened? We won, right? Why are you so badly hurt?”

The prince shook his head. “I’m sorry, Princess…w-we lost. They beat us. I don’t think we ever even stood a chance,” he said, swaying.

“What?! But then—you should be free from the contract! Why are you still here?” the princess cried disbelievingly. Never before had any of the Heroes she had placed under her contract returned to her after being freed. And there was no reason why Xander should have been any different from the rest of them.

“I couldn’t…” he coughed, pain racking his body as he fell to his knees.

“Xander!” Veronica cried out. She was…worried? She had never felt worried for anyone save her brother. What…what was this? Why did she feel worry for this Hero?

The men who had followed him trying to stop him from walking around ran forwards to help him stand up but he waved them off.

“I couldn’t just leave you alone,” the prince rasped out. “You remind me too much of someone precious to me—someone who was just as lonely as you.”

“Wh-what? I’m not…” Veronica protested weakly. “More importantly, y-you need to get to the infirmary! Take him to the healers right away!”

Too tired and weakened to fend them off any longer, Xander let himself give in to the grooms’ help and was carried off to be taken care of.

Leticia’s eyes widened at Xander’s words. So she wasn’t imagining it after all. If someone else, someone like him were able to see it as well…then perhaps she wasn’t wrong. Her lady truly was lonely. A bitter-sweet swell of sympathy arose in her heart and she resolved herself to treat her lady as kindly as possible within the bounds of propriety.

The two women stood in silence for a long while, staring at the door through which the foreign prince was carried out. The wind blew, rustling their hair. The sun sank lower in the skies, now only halfway seen above the earth.

Leticia opened her mouth to speak. Her voice came soft and unsure. “Milady…if I might be so bold as to speak?”

Veronica turned to look at her, staring soundlessly into her eyes until she looked away. Surprisingly, the princess then waved her hand, giving her leave to continue.

“I—oh, well, it’s just, and I hope you won’t take this the wrong way, Milady, but…don’t you think Sir Xander might be right—at least a little?”

“About what, Leticia?”

“About…well, about your being lonely?” she winced, closing her eyes at her own audacity. Upon hearing nothing, the princess’ handmaid slowly opened up her eyes, only to see Princess Veronica with one eyebrow raised. “I-it’s just something I thought I’ve noticed as well, over the years that I’ve been here. The…the other servants and even your vassals and soldiers f-fear you, Milady. A-and, well, ever since your honoured brother left—”

“What does it matter to you?” her princess cut her off, eyes narrowed.

The older of the two women instantly dropped to one knee, certain she was going to be punished—perhaps even killed by the girl the whispers of the court rats called the “Witch-Queen of Embla” and the “Second Coming of Thrasir”—wondering why she couldn’t stop her mouth from running. “I meant no disrespect, Milady!” she cried aloud.

“What, then, did you mean?” the princess asked cooly.

“I just…it’s—I’ve worked here in the Imperial Palace as your handmaid since I was but a few years younger than you are now. I-in that time…I’ve seen you grow up, seen what happened after the death of His Late Imperial Highness, your father…a-and, though this may be too forward of me, I have grown—grown to care for you as well!” the maid cried, bowing her head.

Veronica was taken aback at the older woman’s honesty and her cheeks coloured slightly at the depths of her feelings for her, before she steeled her face and approached Leticia.

The clack of the princess’ boots against the marble floor made the handmaid’s stomach drop. Her heart felt like it would burst out of her chest even as her breath caught in her throat, threatening to suffocate her. She heard her lady stop right in front of her. The cloth of her dress fluttering gently in the wind brushed against her face and she felt the blood drain from it.

Princess Veronica placed her hand under Leticia’s chin and raised her head up to meet her gaze, but the maid, frightened, would not meet her eyes.

“Leticia,” she commanded. “Look at me.”

The eyes of the trembling maid darted upwards before looking down again in fear.

“Leticia,” the princess repeated, this time more softly. “Look at me.”

The older woman finally looked up into her princess’ crimson eyes, holding her gaze despite her fear.

Her princess spoke again, voice even, despite the frightful look in her eyes. “I am a princess. The princess of all of Embla. I can’t…I can’t be lonely. I can’t be anything less than the symbol of this whole empire. Especially at a time like this, when the people need to see that there is still someone in the Imperial family who cares for her nation. For them, for us, I need to be strong.” She let go of the handmaid’s chin and began to walk away. As she reached for the door to exit her salon, Veronica stopped, turned her head back towards her still-bowing maid. “That said…I. Thank you, Leticia.”

Leticia’s head rocketed up and stared as she watched her princess leave the salon and the door swing shut. Her eyes remained glued to that door for a long while after.

•

( _The Order of Heroes’ castle, Askr_ )

Kiran sighed as he tossed and turned in his bed for the umpteenth time that night. Sleep was normally hard to come by for him as it was, but tonight it seemed like it would be particularly difficult to attain.

He threw off his covers and decided to go to the kitchens to see if he couldn’t make himself a mug of hot cocoa to perhaps aid his descent into sleep. On his way back to his room, he spotted a light flickering from one of the many rooms of the castle and decided to go check it out. The fireplace was crackling, keeping the room nice and toasty. In it, curled up on a couch was Tiki, reading. Or at least, it seemed like she had been. A book was in her lap, cracked open, and glasses were on her face, while a blanket was wrapped around her. However, once he looked past the glare of the fire’s light on her glasses, her eyes appeared to be closed, and the sound of light snoring issued forth from her frame.

“Tiki,” Kiran said softly, gently shaking the dragoness awake. “You should get to bed. You fell asleep while reading,” he chuckled.

“Oh my,” she said with a yawn, rubbing her eyes. “It seems I got too comfortable while reading,” Tiki added with a laugh of her own. “What are you doing up so late yourself?”

“Well, I was just heading down to the kitchens to make myself some hot chocolate in the hopes that it might help me get to sleep.”

Tiki’s gaze lost its bleariness and she looked at him with a ponderous expression before giving a soft smile and nodding her head. The pair walked down to the kitchens in an amicable silence after extinguishing the fire. After spending so long in battle together, they had no need for words to break any awkwardness. The manakete watched the Summoner whisk together some cocoa powder, cinnamon, and sugar into a pot of milk that he had set to boil along with a bit of dried orange peel for the scent as her mind drifted back to something she had noticed earlier today.

As the Voice of Naga, she was already quite sensitive to other’s emotions, but when it came to those she considered friends, that sense of hers became even stronger. All throughout this day, after they had defeated that blonde prince who chose willingly to serve Princess Veronica even after his contract had been broken, Kiran seemed to be in a rather poor mood. His laughs and smiles never quite seemed to reach his eyes, and felt as though he were merely putting on an act for the sake of the rest of them, though she doubted the others had realized it.

She drained the last of her cup and set it down, looking directly at Kiran. “Kiran…I wish to speak to you of something.”

Surprised that she had broken the silence, Kiran started, before smiling at her. “Sure, Miss Tiki. What about?”

“About you,” she said simply.

“Huh? Uh…what about me?” Confusion and surprise showed clearly on his face.

“About today. You have been in a rather poor mood all day, have you not? Ever since we faced that prince earlier, a dark cloud has…seemed to settle over your heart. And on the way back home, it seemed as though you were simply putting on an act of happiness to keep us from worrying about you.”

Kiran reeled back in his seat as though he had been struck, all thoughts of sleep now far from his mind as the dragon-maiden’s words sent adrenaline coursing through his veins. He could have sworn that he did his best to hide his turmoil from his allies today. Not even Sharena, who was trying her best to be friends with him, had noticed. He simply gaped at her, unable to form a complete thought. “H-how did…?”

Tiki giggled lightly into her hand at the boy’s expression. How adorable. “Come now, Kiran. Do you really think I wouldn’t notice how my are friends feeling?”

“I—I…friends?” Kiran asked, at a loss for words.

“Yes, truly. Though it might be a bit presumptuous of me, I do feel as if known you for many lifetimes already.”

“!” Whatever it was that Kiran wanted to say made a lump in his throat and came out as a muffled exclamation as his eyes began to mist up. He rubbed at them, trying to hide the tears.

Tiki laughed again, reaching out to pat his head and ruffle his hair. “Oh, you silly boy. There’s no need to cry over such a thing, is there?”

“I—I’m not crying!” Kiran answered, through the hands covering his face. He took a couple of deep breaths to regain control over himself and looked up at her with moist eyes. “I’m just…I’m grateful. I wanted to hide how I’m feeling, but I’m also so glad someone noticed. And, even more than that, I’m happy beyond what words can express that you consider me your friend as well.”

“Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong, hm?” the green-haired woman asked, a gentle smile on her face.

“I…well. To put it shortly, I am…jealous of Xander! And I know it’s an ugly feeling and I know it’s an ugly thing to be jealous of someone else, but I can’t help it!” Kiran exclaimed trying to justify himself to her.

“Calm down,” Tiki said, stroking his hair. “It’s quite alright. We all have these feelings, and they’re only natural. There’s no need to feel guilty simply for having them. What is it though that you are jealous of him for?”

Kiran took another deep breath, still shaking as the adrenaline in his veins dissipated. “I…I haven’t really told anyone else this, so I guess you’ll be the first,” he chuckled drily. “Miss Tiki, I’m…there’s a girl I like. Like, like like.”

“Oh!” she said, clasping her hands together. “How lovely! And who might this lucky lady be?”

Kiran felt his face grow hot at the complement. “Uh, well. It’s related to why I feel what I do towards Xander,” he said evasively.

“Oh my. It has to do with him? How so?” Tiki asked curiously.

“Well he’s–he’s the closest man to her now, I think. Even now, he must be at her side, where I want to be.” Tiki quirked an eyebrow at his Kiran hid his face behind his hands. “It’s, well…the person I love is P-Princess Veronica,” he finally confessed with a muffled voice.

“Oh my!” the dragoness exclaimed, covering her mouth with a hand as her eyes curled upwards at the bit of juicy gossip. “That’s certainly a surprise,” she chuckled. “Now how did that happen?”

The two friends whiled away the hours in the kitchen that night, talking about love and romance. Eventually, however, Kiran’s exhaustion caught up with him, and his eyes began to droop as the seductive embrace of sleep took him over.

“Kiran…Kiran!” Tiki whispered as she gently nudged him awake.

“Huh? Oh, wha–did I fall asleep? I’m sorry, Miss Tiki. I think I had better get to bed,” he said with a yawn.

The Voice of Naga giggled softly as she helped him get up and walk back to his room. As they reached his door, Kiran unlocked it before turning around and hugging the woman, who was taken aback at first before she reached up and ruffled his hair again.

The two said their goodnights before parting and heading off to their own beds to get some rest before another busy day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! As always, please leave me a review, they really keep me going! If you’d like, follow me on Twitter as well at kalacakra108 for my drawings and to interact with me! I also have a small but growing discord server of FE fanfic writers, so if you’re interested, just hit me up for an invite!


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